Change Indicator

Domestic assaults 2021 in Maine

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Why This Indicator Matters

All of us deserve to be safe in our own homes.  Brain development science has demonstrated that when children are exposed to repeated stressful incidents such as one parent assaulting another physically, it affects their brains in long-term ways. Violence in a child's home is an adverse childhood experience. Children with adverse childhood experiences are more likely to have trouble in school, feel sad or hopeless and continue to have mental and physical health issues into adulthood.  

What the data shows
Domestic violence rates in Maine had been falling each year since 2012. However, the 2021 rate of 291.9 was the lowest since 2017. In 2021, Somerset, Kennebec, and Franklin Counties had the highest rates of domestic assaults with rates of 454.2, 438.4 and 413.5 per 100,000 residents respectively. Counties with the lowest rates of reported domestic assaults in 2021 were Waldo, Oxford and Hancock Counties at 127.7, 156.5 and 168.8 domestic assaults per 100,000 people respectively. 

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Definition and Source

PROVIDER

Definition

The rate of assaults reported to the police which were perpetrated by family or household members who are or were married or living together in a romantic relationship, natural parents of the same child (whether or not the couple ever lived together) or other adult family members related by blood or marriage. These are not unduplicated counts and may include numerous assaults affecting the same individuals. The rate is per 100,000 of the total population. Also, in 2021, there were 321 domestic violence assaults handled by state police. In these cases, the county was not known, but these domestic assaults were included in the state total.

Notes

This data includes assaults on children by parents, assaults on parents by children and other assaults between family and household members.  The state total includes arrests made by the state police in any county. The numerator is the number of assaults times 100,000 and the denominator is the total population by county in 2020 per the Maine Office of Vital Statistics. Domestic violence assaults reported to police are included whether or not an arrest was made. One individual may have committed multiple domestic violence assaults.

Last Updated

June 2023