Gender-Based Violence State Brief

Ohio

All data in this brief are specific to the state of Ohio. 

Download the PDF

KNOW YOUR NUMBERS

Sexual Violence (SV)

50% of women have experienced rape, sexual coercion, or unwanted sexual contact in their lifetime. There are over 2.2 million survivors in Ohio alone. Prevalence for men is not available for Ohio (NISVS, 2023/2024).

31% of women, and 17% of men, first experienced sexual violence when they were under the age of 18 (NISVS, 2016/2017).

11% of female high school students experienced sexual violence in the past year (YRBS, 2023).

20% of gay, lesbian, or bisexual high school students experienced sexual violence in the past year (YRBS, 2023).

15%

15% of women have experienced completed or attempted rape in their lifetime (NISVS, 2023/2024).

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

33% of women have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. There are over 1.5 million survivors of IPV in Ohio alone. Prevalence for men is not available in Ohio (NISVS, 2023/2024).

15% of women first experienced IPV when they were under the age of 18. Prevalence for men is not available for Ohio (NISVS, 2016/2017).

6% of female high school students experienced physical dating violence in the past year (YRBS, 2021).

18% of gay, lesbian, or bisexual high school students experienced physical dating violence in the past year (YRBS, 2021).

27%

27% of women have experienced at least one IPV-related impact* in their lifetime. Prevalence for men is not available for Ohio (NISVS, 2023/2024).

INTIMATE PARTNER HOMICIDE

Between 2019 and 2023, 254 Ohio women were killed by their intimate partners. The rate of intimate partner homicide was more than 3.5 times higher for Black women (2.81 per 100,000 women) than white women (.77 per 100,000 women).

Stalking

Over 1 in 4 women has experienced stalking in their lifetime (NISVS, 2023/2024).

 

Human Trafficking

Between December 2024 and December 2025, there were 32 victims of commercial sex trafficking identified by police records.

In 2024, the Human Trafficking Hotline received calls identifying 509 victims of human trafficking (either sex or forced labor trafficking).

Sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking, and human trafficking remain among the most underreported crimes globally.

Today’s Key Priorities in GBV Prevention and Response

The first U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence was released in 2023, informed by a comprehensive, national process that engaged survivors, advocates, and other stakeholders. This policy overview is organized around selected National Plan priority areas, with a brief summary describing policies responsive to GBV prevention or survivor support.

  • GBV Responsive
  • Some elements GBV responsive
  • Not GBV responsive

Priority Area 1: Prevention

Domestic violence training for healthcare workers is not required but is encouraged or made available by state policy. State policy encourages DV training programs to be created by local government units.

State law requires or encourages training for prevention of human trafficking among specified professions or in specific locations. Required for commercial drivers licensing.

State law mandates CSA education to either some or all students or some or all staff. Required for students K-6. No requirements for school staff.

Priority Area 2: Survivor Support, Safety, and Well-being

Ohio has 76 Domestic Violence Service Providers (2025).

State policy protects survivors of IPV from insurance discrimination for health insurance and life insurance, but not for disability insurance, or property insurance (2019).

Priority Area 3a: Housing Stability

State law allows for court/protection orders to remove abusive partners and other violent perpetrators from a shared home (2024).

GBV survivors have no legal protection against penalties for early lease termination due to GBV (2024).14

Landlords are not legally required to change locks for individuals experiencing GBV (2024).

GBV survivors are not legally protected from being evicted by landlords due to the GBV they experienced (2024)

State officials conduct an annual point-in-time count to estimate the number of unhoused individuals in each state and locality. In a single night, there were 1,063 unhoused IPV survivors counted in Ohio (2025).

Priority Area 3b: Economic Security

As of 2023, the criminal definition of domestic violence does not include elements of economic coercion or abuse.

No existing policy allows survivors to take leave from employment due to the consequences of abuse (2025).

GBV survivors are not legally protected against employer discrimination or retaliation based on their status as a survivor (2025).

GBV survivors have no legal protection to remain eligible for unemployment benefits if they must leave or quit work due to GBV (2025).

Economic insecurity is both a risk factor for and a consequence of GBV victimization. Some women in Ohio are more likely to face economic insecurity than others. In Ohio (2026), among full-time, year-round workers, for every $1 a white man makes, a white non-Hispanic woman makes $0.80, a Black woman makes $0.66, a Latina woman makes $0.64, and an Indigenous woman makes $0.56.

Priority Area 4: Online Safety & Security

As of 2024, the criminal definition of stalking is inclusive of online tactics (cyberstalking). Direct cyber components are included in the legal definition of stalking/harassment (electronic communication) (2024).

State law does not criminalize AI-generated Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) as part of the definition of CSAM (2025).

Additional state online safety law prohibits interception of communications (including electronically) (2024). As of 2026, all U.S. states have criminalized nonconsensual distribution of intimate images.

Priority Area 5: Legal and Justice Systems

Survivors of GBV can file for protective orders against stalking, including cyberstalking (2024). Survivors of stalking, regardless of relationship to perpetrator, can file for protective orders, no-contact orders, or civil injunctions.

The establishment of a Domestic Violence Fatality Review team is not legally mandated or encouraged in this state (2019).

Access to Guns

This state does not have an extreme risk/red flag gun law allowing courts to temporarily limit an individual from purchasing or possessing firearms (2026).

As of 2026, no Ohio law addresses the “boyfriend loophole” in IPV-related firearm restriction/ relinquishment (i.e., dating partners may be excluded from enforcement).

Rape Kit Policy

State policy requires existence of a Rape Kit Tracking System (2026).

State policy establishes or encourages some guidelines regarding submission or testing of newly submitted rape kits (2026). See state policy for details

State policy establishes a Victims’ Right to Know for rape kit progress (2026). Survivors have the right to information, upon request, of the location and results of their kit.

Sources

  1. CDC. (2025). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2023/2024 Sexual violence data brief [PDF]. https://www.cdc.gov/nisvs/media/pdfs/sexualviolence-brief.pdf. Retrieved Jan 12, 2026.
  2. CDC. (2023). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016–2017 state report [PDF]. https://www.cdc.gov/nisvs/documentation/NISVS-2016-2017-State-Report-508.pdf. Retrieved Feb 18, 2026.
  3. CDC. (2023). Youth Risk Behavior Survey data explorer. https://yrbs-explorer.services.cdc.gov/#/. Retrieved Feb 17, 2026.
  4. CDC. (2026). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: Intimate partner violence data brief [PDF]. https://www.cdc.gov/nisvs/media/ pdfs/intimatepartnerviolence-brief.pdf. Retrieved Mar 2, 2026.
  5. CDC. (2019–2023). WISQARS National Violent Death Reporting System report: Intimate partner violence, women ages 15–85+, 2019–2023. https:// wisqars.cdc.gov/. Retrieved Apr 16, 2026.
  6. CDC. (2025). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2023/2024 Stalking data brief [PDF]. https://www.cdc.gov/nisvs/media/pdfs/ stalking-brief.pdf. Retrieved Jan 12, 2026.
  7. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2024–2025). Crime Data Explorer. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/home. Retrieved Apr 15, 2026.
  8. National Human Trafficking Hotline. (2024). https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statistics. Retrieved Feb 21, 2026.
  9. The White House. (2023). U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence: Strategies for Action. https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/ uploads/2023/05/National-Plan-to-End-GBV.pdf. May 2023.
  10. Futures Without Violence. (2019). Compendium of state and U.S. territory statutes and policies on domestic violence and health care (4th ed.) [PDF]. https://store.futureswithoutviolence.org/product/us-state-and-territory-compendium/. Retrieved Mar 5, 2026. Ohio law: (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §§ 4723.25, 4731.282, 4732.141, 4757.34); (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3901.21(Y)).
  11. U.S. Department of Transportation. (2024). Compendium of transport-specific human trafficking state and territory laws: A resource guide (2nd ed.) [PDF]. Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking initiative. https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2024-07/USDOT%20TLAHT%20HT%20 Laws%20Compendium%20-%202024%20Edition_0.pdf. Retrieved Feb 24, 2026. Ohio law: (§ 4501-7-28).
  12. Enough Abuse. (2025). State Laws Mandating or Allowing Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Education in Schools. https://enoughabuse.org/get-vocal/laws-by-state/prevention-education/. Retrieved June 1, 2026. Ohio law: (SB 288 (2022)).
  13. National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2025). Domestic Violence Counts: 20th annual report. https://nnedv.org/content/domestic-violence-counts-20th-annual-report/. Retrieved Jun 17, 2026.
  14. National Housing Law Project. (2024). Housing rights of domestic violence and sexual assault survivors: A state and local law compendium [PDF]. https:// www.nhlp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024-NHLP-Compendium-of-Housing-Rights-for-DVS.pdf. Retrieved Feb 16, 2026. Ohio law: (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3113.31).
  15. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2024). CoC homeless populations and subpopulations reports. https://www.hudexchange.info/ programs/coc/coc-homeless-populations-and-subpopulations-reports/. Retrieved Jan 23, 2026.
  16. The National Survivor Financial Security Policy Map and Scorecard. FreeFrom. https://mapandscorecard.freefrom.org. Current as of Dec 15, 2023. Retrieved Feb 2026.
  17. Legal Momentum. (2025). State guide on employment rights for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking [PDF]. https://www. legalmomentum.org/sites/default/files/reports/50%20State%20Survivor%20Guide.pdf. Retrieved Feb 12, 2026.
  18. National Women’s Law Center. (2026). The Lifetime Wage Gap: State by State. https://nwlc.org/resource/the-lifetime-wage-gap-state-by-state/. Retrieved Apr 14, 2026.
  19. Women’s Law. (Ohio page last updated Oct 2024). State Map. https://www.womenslaw.org/laws?reset-state=1. Retrieved Mar 3, 2026. Ohio law: (§ 2903.211); (§ 2933.52); (Ohio Rev. Code § 2903.214).
  20. Enough Abuse. (2025). State laws criminalizing AI-generated or computer-edited child sexual abuse material (CSAM). https://enoughabuse.org/get-vocal/ laws-by-state/state-laws-criminalizing-ai-generated-or-computer-edited-child-sexual-abuse-material-csam/. Retrieved Mar 6, 2026. Ohio law: (Ohio Rev. Code § 2907.01).
  21. Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. (n.d.). Nonconsensual distribution of intimate images. Retrieved May 15, 2026, from https://cybercivilrights.org/ nonconsensual-distribution-of-intimate-images/.
  22. Everytown Research & Policy. (2026). 2026 Everytown Gun Law Rankings. https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/. Retrieved Feb 9, 2026.
  23. End the Backlog. (2026). Pillar map. https://www.endthebacklog.org/#explore_backlog_map. Retrieved Mar 10, 2026. Ohio law: (SB 201 (2018)); (Ohio Rev. Code § 109.573); (SB 316 (2014)); (HB 33 (2023)).