Gender-Based Violence State Brief

Washington

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

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KNOW YOUR NUMBERS

Sexual Violence (SV)

55% of women and 20% of men have experienced rape, sexual coercion, or unwanted sexual contact in their lifetime. There are over 2.1 million survivors in Washington alone (NISVS, 2023/2024).

33% of women and 16% of men first experienced sexual violence when they were under the age of 18 (NISVS, 2016/2017).

23% of 12th grade female students in Washington have been forced into sexual contact in their lifetime (WHYS, 2025).

32% of 12th grade gay or lesbian students have been forced into sexual contact in their lifetime (WHYS, 2025).

28%

28% of women have experienced completed or attempted rape in their lifetime (NISVS, 2023/2024).

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

42% of women and 14% of men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. There are over 1.6 million survivors of IPV in Washington alone (NISVS, 2023/2024).

14% of women first experienced IPV when they were under the age of 18. Prevalence for men is not available in Washington (NISVS, 2016/2017).

2.7% of postpartum women experienced IPV in the 12 months before pregnancy. 1.6% experienced IPV during their pregnancy (PRAMS, 2022).

9% of 12th grade female students have experienced IPV in their lifetime (WHYS, 2025).

12% of 12th grade gay or lesbian students have experienced IPV in their lifetime (WHYS, 2025).

35%

35% of women and 11% of men have experienced at least one IPV-related impact* in their lifetime (NISVS, 2023/2024).

INTIMATE PARTNER HOMICIDE

Between 2019 and 2023, 81 Washington women were killed by their intimate partners. Intimate partner homicide affects women, especially Black and Indigenous women, at a disproportionate rate to men. At the national level, for cases in which the victim/offender relationship is known, intimate partners are responsible for over 50% of women’s homicides and 8% of men’s homicides.

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 71 victims of commercial sex trafficking identified through police records.8

In 2024, the Human Trafficking Hotline received calls identifying 441 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

DV training for healthcare workers is not required but is encouraged or made available by state policy (2019). State policy encourages DV training programs to be created by local government units.

Training for prevention of human trafficking among certain professions (e.g., hospitality management) or in specific locations is not encouraged or required in state law (2024).

State law encourages but does not require child sexual abuse (CSA) education to students or school staff (2025). Encouraged for students in grades K-2. No guidance regarding school staff in state law.

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

Washington has 64 Domestic Violence Service Providers (2025).

State policy protects survivors of IPV from insurance discrimination for health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 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).

State law allows for early lease termination for IPV, SV, or stalking survivors with protections from financial penalty (2024). Evidence requirements may differ by state, see state policy for details.

State law requires landlords to change locks if an individual is a survivor of IPV and/or SV and provides a court order (2024). Tenant may be financially responsible for the lock change, see individual state law.

State law prohibits landlords from evicting survivors 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 3,295 unhoused IPV survivors counted in Washington (2025).

Priority Area 3b: Economic Security

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

State law allows survivors to take leave from employment due to the consequences of abuse (2025).

State law prohibits employer discrimination or retaliation against employees based on their status as survivors (2025).

State law allows survivors who must leave or quit work due to domestic violence or stalking-related circumstances to remain eligible for unemployment benefits (2025). The claimant may need to show proof of violence or harassment to qualify.

Economic insecurity is both a risk factor for and a consequence of GBV victimization. Some women in Washington are more likely to face economic insecurity than others. In Washington (2024), among full-time, year-round workers, for every $1 a white man makes, a white non-Hispanic woman makes $0.79, a Black woman makes $0.65, an Indigenous woman makes $0.58, a Native HI/Other PI woman makes $0.55, and a Latina woman makes $0.53.

Priority Area 4: Online Safety and Security

As of 2025, the criminal definition of stalking is inclusive of online tactics (cyberstalking). Direct cyber components are included in the legal definition of stalking/harassment.

State law criminalizes AI-generated Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) as part of the definition of CSAM (2025).

Additional state online safety laws prohibit (electronic) communication with minors for immoral purposes and computer trespassing (2025). 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 (2025). Survivors of stalking, regardless of their relationship to the perpetrator, can file for protective orders, no-contact orders, or civil injunctions.

State policy mandates the establishment of a Domestic Violence Fatality Review team (2019).

Access to Guns 

State law includes an extreme risk/red flag gun law allowing courts to temporarily limit an individual from purchasing or possessing firearms (2026).

State law closes the “boyfriend loophole” present in federal law, prohibiting gun possession by those convicted of IPV (including dating partners) (2026).

Rape Kit Policy

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

State policy establishes deadlines for submission and 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. Washington State Healthy Youth Survey. (2025). Data Explorer. https://www.askhys.net/About#faq-panel-1 Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  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. (2022). Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) dataset: Maternal and Child Health indicators by site. https://www.cdc.gov/prams/ php/data-research/mch-indicators-by-site.html. Retrieved Feb. 25, 2026.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2024–2025). Crime Data Explorer. https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/home. Retrieved Apr. 15, 2026.
  9. National Human Trafficking Hotline. (2024). https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/statistics. Retrieved Feb. 21, 2026.
  10. 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.
  11. 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. Washington law: (RCW § 43.70.610); (Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 48.18.550); (RCW §§ 43.235.010–43.235.901).
  12. 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.
  13. 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. Washington law: (HB 1539 (2018)).
  14. National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2025). Domestic Violence Counts: 19th Annual Report. https://nnedv.org/content/domestic-violence-counts-19th-annual-report/. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  15. 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. Washington law: (RCW § 7.105.310); (RCW §§ 59.18.575, 59.18.352); (RCW §§ 59.18.585, 59.18.575); (RCW § 59.18.580).
  16. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2025). CoC homeless populations and subpopulations reports. https://www.hudexchange.info/ programs/coc/coc-homeless-populations-and-subpopulations-reports/. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  17. FreeFrom. The National Survivor Financial Security Policy Map and Scorecard. https://mapandscorecard.freefrom.org. Current as of Dec. 15, 2023. Retrieved Feb. 2026.
  18. 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. Washington law: (RCW § 49.76.030); (RCW § 49.76.115); (RCW § 50.20.050).
  19. 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.
  20. Women’s Law. (Washington page last updated Aug. 2025). State Map. https://www.womenslaw.org/laws?reset-state=1. Retrieved Mar. 3, 2026. Washington law: (§ 9A.46.110(1)(a)(iv)); (§ 9A.46.110(6)(b), (d)); (§§ 9.68A.090, 9A.90.040); (RCW § 7.105.010).
  21. 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. Washington law: (Wash. Rev. Code § 9.68A).
  22. Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. (n.d.). Nonconsensual distribution of intimate images. https://cybercivilrights.org/nonconsensual-distribution-of-intimate-images/. Retrieved May 15, 2026.
  23. Everytown Research & Policy. (2026). 2026 Everytown Gun Law Rankings. https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2026. Washington law: (RCW Chapter 7.105); (Wash. Rev. Code §§ 9.41.040(2)(a)(ii), 7.105.100(1)(a), 7.105.010(20)).
  24. End the Backlog. (2026). Pillar map. https://www.endthebacklog.org/#explore_backlog_map. Retrieved Mar. 10, 2026. Washington law: (HB 2530 (2016); HB 1166 (2019)); (HB 1068 (2015) and HB 1166 (2019)); (HB 1166 (2019)).