According to the survey of more than 16,500 adults, on average 24 people per minute are victims of physical violence, rape or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States.  More than 7 million women were the victims of physical violence by an intimate partner in the 12 months prior to the survey.  One in four women and one in seven men reported severe physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner.  According to the CDC, this includes a range of physical violence from a slap to a longer term pattern of abuse.

 

The data also state that women are four times more likely than men to be beaten; six times more likely to be slammed against something; and nine times more likely to be strangled or suffocated.  Seventy-two percent of women and 18 per cent of men reported being frightened by the violence they experienced.

Nearly one in five women and one in 71 men reported being raped at some point in their lifetime.  More than one million women reported being raped in the 12 months prior to the survey.  Nearly 92 percent of the female victims of rape were assaulted by an intimate partner or acquaintance. 

The report emphasizes the important of prevention and early intervention efforts.  Approximately 80 percent of female victims experienced their first rape before the age of 25 and nearly have experienced the first rape before age 18.  Almost a third (28 percent) of men experienced their first rape when they were ten years of age or younger. 

The report's release supports the federal government's efforts to address intimate partner violence, sexual assault and stalking including the recently-introduced Senate bill to reauthorize the landmark Violence Against Women Action (VAWA).  VAWA is the cornerstone of the federal government's response to these crimes, authorizing critical funding, support and services to survivors and to the criminal justice system.

The National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence helped coordinate and plan a Congressional briefing of the NISVS data, courtesy of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (VT).  We are indebted to Rob Valente for her expertise and assistance, and to Anne Menard, Director, National Resource Center on Domestic Domestic who also coordinated with David Lee with PreventConnect, Karen Baker with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and several remarkable CDC staff to prepare advance materials to assist local programs and state and territorial coalitions to understand and use the new data in prevention and intervention efforts. Supporting us in preparing for the Congressional briefing were the National Network to End Domestic Violence and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence with the presenters, Dr. Linda Degutis, Director, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and Dr. Howard Spivak, Director, Division of Violence Prevention.   

Margaret began her public health career in 1979 as Public Health Advisor in the STD Program. Margaret served as a Public Health Advisor in San Francisco, Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York City. In 1987 through 1989, Margaret served as the Program Management Officer for the New York City Refugee Health Program and in 1989 she accepted a position as the Field Services Manager for 13 STD clinics throughout New York City.  In 1996, Margaret transitioned to CDC headquarters and accepted a position as a Project Officer in the Program Services Branch in the Division Cancer Control and later served as the Deputy Branch Chief. Margaret transitioned to the Division of Violence Prevention in 2002, where she served as a Team Leader in the Program Implementation and Dissemination Branch, Division of Violence Prevention, in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.   

We will miss Margaret and wish her all the best!