The Cost of Violence: Why Prevention Is a Smart Investment

Violence costs trillions. Prevention builds futures — and saves money doing it.

Every community pays for violence.

We pay for emergency care and police response. We pay for lost workdays, broken trust, physical and psychological harm, intergenerational trauma, and interrupted lives. But what if we invested that same money before harm happens — building safety and opportunity instead of repairing damage?

It turns out, prevention isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s also one of the smartest investments we can make.

The Price Tag of Harm

A CDC study I led with Cora Peterson estimated that rape costs the U.S. nearly $3.1 trillion over victims’ lifetimes. That’s more than the annual GDP of France. For each person who experiences rape, the lifetime cost averages $122,000 — mostly from lost work, medical care, and mental health impacts. About one-third of that burden is paid by taxpayers.

And that’s just one form of violence. When we look across the spectrum, the costs grow even more staggering:

Type of Violence or Injury	Estimated Economic Burden	Highlights
Sexual violence (rape)	≈ $3.1 trillion (lifetime, U.S.)	$122K per victim; includes medical care, lost wages, and criminal justice costs.
Intimate partner violence	≈ $3.6 trillion (lifetime, U.S.)	$104K per female victim on average; $23K per male victim; > $1 trillion paid by government sources.
All injuries (fatal + nonfatal)	≈ $4.2 trillion per year (2019)	Includes assault, homicide, falls, crashes — reflecting health care, productivity, and quality of life losses.
Violence prevention programs (review)	Most show “good value for money.”	Evidence from dozens of economic evaluations supports investing in prevention.

When we add it all up, the United States spends trillions responding to violence every year — money that could instead be fueling prevention, education, and healthy communities.

What Prevention Pays For

Preventing violence means fewer hospital visits, fewer court cases, and fewer lives defined by trauma. But the benefits go far beyond cost savings.

Prevention creates:

• Safer schools and workplaces where respect and connection replace fear.

• Healthier relationships shaped by skills and support instead of stress and isolation.

• Stronger economies because people can learn, work, and thrive without violence holding them back.

  
  

Research shows prevention works best when we act early and across levels — from individual skills to social norms and community environments. Investments in parenting support, school climate, youth mentoring, and community design have ripple effects that protect entire generations.

The Bottom Line

If violence costs us trillions, prevention isn’t an expense — it’s an investment with one of the highest returns imaginable. Every dollar we spend to prevent harm pays back in health, productivity, and potential.

The math is simple. The return is human.

Prevention pays. Let’s invest like we mean it.

At Violence Prevention Solutions, we help organizations plan, implement, and evaluate strategies that work — turning evidence into real-world results.

Because prevention isn’t just possible. It’s powerful.

Set up a 30-min Discovery Call today to talk about how we can help you maximize your prevention investments: hello@evolveprevention.com

Learn more:

• Peterson C, DeGue S, Florence C, Lokey C. (2017). Lifetime Economic Burden of Rape Among U.S. Adults. CDC / American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Read →

• Peterson C, Kearns M, Florence C et al. (2018). Lifetime Economic Burden of Intimate Partner Violence Among U.S. Adults. Read →

• Peterson C et al. (2021). Economic Cost of Injury — United States, 2019. MMWR 70(48):1595–1599. Read →

• Peterson C & Kearns M. (2021). Systematic Review of Violence Prevention Economic Evaluations, 2000–2019. Read →