The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS)

On average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States, based on a survey conducted in 2010. Over the course of a year, that equals more than 12 million women and men. Those numbers only tell part of the story—more than 1 million women are raped in a year and over 6 million women and men are victims of stalking in a year. These findings emphasize that sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are important and widespread public health problems in the United States.

Related Material

Fact Sheet [PDF 705KB]
Two pages of highlights from 2010 survey findings

Executive Summary
Brief summaries (4-5 pages) of key findings
• English [PDF 749KB]
• Spanish [PDF 741KB]

Full Report [PDF 4.2MB]

Detailed State Tables

Communications Toolkit [PDF 2.1MB]
Creative ideas and examples that CDC's partners, grantees, and other groups can use leading up to and following the release of NISVS data

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Special Report:

• NISVS 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation

Sexual Violence Victimization

More than three-quarters of female victims of completed rape (79.6%) were first raped before their 25th birthday, with 42.2% experiencing their first completed rape before the age of 18 (29.9% between 11–17 years old and 12.3% at or before age 10) (Figure 2.2).

More than one-quarter of male victims of completed rape (27.8%) were first raped when they were 10 years old or younger (data not shown).

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Stalking Victimization

More than half of female victims were stalked before the age of 25; about 1 in 5 female victims experienced stalking between the ages of 11 and 17.

More than one-third of male victims were stalked before the age of 25; about 1 in 14 male victims experienced stalking between the ages of 11 and 17.

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Violence by an Intimate Partner

Among victims of intimate partner violence, about 1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner (e.g., hit with a fist or something hard, beaten, slammed against something) at some point in their lifetime.

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Impact of Intimate Partner Violence

Eighty-one percent (81%) of women and thirty-five percent (35%) of men who experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner reported at least one impact related to the IPV experiences, such as fear, concern for safety, injury, or having missed at least one day of work or school.

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Physical and Mental Health Outcomes

Women and men who experienced rape or stalking by any perpetrator or physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime were more likely to report frequent headaches, chronic pain, difficulty with sleeping, activity limitations, poor physical health and poor mental health than men and women who did not experience these forms of violence.

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