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Domestic violence linked to majority of murders of NC women and girls, reports finds

Woman hold lit candles at vigil
Brynn Anderson
/
AP
In this file photo, women attend a candlelight vigil to support Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

A new analysis reveals how often domestic violence is involved in crimes across North Carolina.

The report from the state's Criminal Justice Analysis Center looks at data from 2020 through 2025. It shows that domestic violence, or DV, played a role in the majority of murders of women and girls across the state. Roughly 40% of crimes committed against people involve DV.

The analysis found that while violent crime overall has declined since the pandemic, cases of family violence have remained steady.

Adults between 25 and 34, women, and Black people are especially affected — those groups were most frequently identified as victims in the reports researchers analyzed.

In a release, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said funding to address these types of crimes has become scarcer due to federal cuts. The agency says this year the state received $41 million dollars for victims’ services — less than half what it got in 2018.

April Laissle is a senior reporter and editor at WFDD. Her work has been featured on several national news programs and recognized by the Public Media Journalists Association and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Before joining WFDD in 2019, she worked at public radio stations in Ohio and California.

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