Prevalence and characteristics of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization--national intimate partner and sexual violence survey, United States, 2011.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional national survey (graded by design analogy, not clinical CEBM)
What was done
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the 2011 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), a dual-frame (landline and cellular) random-digit-dial telephone survey of noninstitutionalized English- and Spanish-speaking U.S. adults aged 18 years and older across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data were collected from 12,727 completed and 1,428 partially completed interviews (total n = 14,155) to estimate lifetime and 12-month prevalence of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence, as well as perpetrator sex and age at first victimization.
What was found
Lifetime rape was reported by an estimated 19.3% of women (1.6% in the past 12 months) and 1.7% of men (12-month case counts were too small for a reliable estimate). Other sexual violence was reported by 43.9% of women and 23.4% of men over their lifetimes (5.5% and 5.1% in the past 12 months, respectively). Lifetime stalking affected 15.2% of women (4.2% past 12 months) and 5.7% of men (2.1% past 12 months). Severe physical intimate partner violence was experienced by 22.3% of women and 14.0% of men over their lifetimes (2.3% and 2.1% in the past 12 months). Intimate partner rape occurred in 8.8% of women and 0.5% of men over their lifetimes. Female victims reported predominantly male perpetrators across violence types. For male victims, rape perpetrators were predominantly male, while perpetrators of being made to penetrate and sexual coercion were predominantly female, and stalking and unwanted sexual contact had a more even mix of male and female perpetrators. Among female rape victims, 78.7% were first victimized before age 25 (40.4% before age 18). Among male victims made to penetrate, 71.0% were first victimized before age 25 (21.3% before age 18).
Why it matters
This report provides foundational national surveillance establishing the substantial burden of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence across the United States, highlighting that initial victimization disproportionately occurs during adolescence and early adulthood.
Limits
The survey was limited to noninstitutionalized adults with telephone access who spoke English or Spanish, excluding institutionalized populations and non-English/Spanish speakers. Findings rely on retrospective self-report, which is subject to recall errors and underreporting due to stigma. Case counts for male rape in the prior 12 months were too small to produce statistically reliable 12-month prevalence estimates.
Cited by
- context Approximately one in four people have experienced sexual abuse.