New & Noteworthy:
2022 Annual Data Report: Sexual & Domestic Violence in Whatcom County
The Commission has released its newest annual data report with information reports to law enforcement, forensic exams, protection orders, advocacy services, domestic violence and homelessness, and more. It also includes a Spotlight Report highlighting themes from survivor input on healing & justice.
Published October 2023
Past Data Reports
The Commission releases data reports annually. These reports provide information about rate of reported incidents and services accessed within Whatcom County. See below for our most recent reports; reports published before 2017 can be found in our archive.
2021 Data Report: Sexual & Domestic Violence in Whatcom County
“Recovering from an assault is already so isolating. The stay-at-home order only exacerbated that isolation. I stopped talking to everyone in my life, and nobody could come and visit or check on me because of it.” —Local Survivor
This annual data report contains information on reports to law enforcement, forensic exams, protection orders, advocacy services, domestic violence and homelessness, and more. Additionally, survivors shared their experiences of sexual violence and/or violence in a relationship, how the pandemic impacted survivors’ access to and experience with services, support, and justice.
2020 Annual Data Report: Sexual & Domestic Violence in Whatcom County
This report examines data on domestic and sexual violence in Whatcom County for the calendar year 2020. It features a “Snapshot Report,” which provides data on domestic and sexual violence in Whatcom County. The report also features a “Spotlight Report” on how COVID-19 has impacted survivors in Whatcom County. Through surveys and interviews with local survivors and practitioners, and including regional and national research, the Spotlight Report explores how isolation, financial challenges, and substance use decreased survivor safety and wellbeing; how remote and limited services created challenges for survivors and practitioners; and how the lack of appropriate support is impacting local BIPOC survivors.
2019 Annual Data Report: Sexual & Domestic Violence in Whatcom County
This report examines data on domestic and sexual violence in Whatcom County for the calendar year 2019. It features a “Snapshot Report,” which provides data on domestic and sexual violence in Whatcom County, and includes input gathered from survivors through the Commission’s website and interviews. The report also features a “Spotlight Report” on the challenge of survivor-defendants, survivors of domestic violence who are themselves arrested for domestic violence or other crimes related to their experience of abuse. Through interviews with over 20 local stakeholders, and including regional and national research, the Spotlight Report explores the differences between the legal definition of domestic violence and how survivors experience abuse, and how that tension has created systems where survivors of domestic violence can be arrested for that very offense.
2018 Annual Data Report: Sexual & Domestic Violence in Whatcom County
This report examines data on domestic and sexual violence in Whatcom County for the calendar year 2018. It features a “Snapshot Report,” which provides context on domestic and sexual violence in Whatcom County, and a “Spotlight Report” on the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Persons. This portion includes data from 2019. The end of this report features updates on community responses to the Spotlight areas featured in the previous year’s report.
Domestic & Sexual Violence in Whatcom County 2017
This report examines data on domestic and sexual violence in Whatcom County for the calendar year 2017. It features a “Snapshot Report,” which provides context on domestic and sexual violence in Whatcom County, and two “Spotlight Reports,” which more deeply examine areas of focus related to domestic and sexual violence. In this year’s report, the spotlights are: the impact of federal immigration policy on survivors, and connections between homelessness/housing instability and domestic and sexual violence. These portions include data that was collected in 2018.