Sexual Victimization Data Sources

At a glance

Understand the differences between four data collection systems with this top-level view of the data sources, organizational sponsors, and uses for surveys including the Nation Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), and the Uniform Crime Reporting Program Summary Reporting System (UCR SRS).

A comparison of key U.S. federal sexual violence data sources

A Comparison of Key Federal Sexual Violence Data Sources in the United States
NCVS NISVS YRBSS UCR SRS
Administrating agency Bureau of Justice Statistics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Federal Bureau of Investigation
Website The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program
Context Crime Public health Public health Crime
Focus Victims and incidents of nonfatal violent and property crime both reported and not reported to the police Victims and consequences of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence Health risk behaviors among youth in the United States Violent and property crimes that come to the attention of law enforcement agencies
Data years available 1992-present 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, ongoing every other year starting in 2016 2001-present 1930-present
Data collection method In person and telephone interviews Telephone/cell phone interviews Self-administered questionnaire Reports from law enforcement agencies
Eligible respondents All persons ages 12 or older living in US households and non-institutional group living facilities Non-institutionalized adults aged 18 or older Students in grades 9-12 attending public and private schools in the 50 states and District of Columbia City, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies nationwide
Number of respondents ~220,000 persons in ~130,000 households ~12,000 to over 25,000 per data collection period ~14,000 for the national survey and ~2,000-3,000 for most state, territorial, tribal, and local surveys ~17,000 law enforcement agencies
Sexual victimization measures Forced or coerced rape; attempted rape, other types of unwanted sexual contact achieved with or without force; threats of rape and sexual assault Forced or alcohol /drug facilitated rape/attempted rape and being made to penetrate; sexual coercion; unwanted sexual contact; and non-contact unwanted sexual experiences Forced sexual intercourse; other forced sexual acts Completed and attempted rape
Time frame of estimates Past calendar year Past calendar year; lifetime Past 12 months; lifetime Past calendar year
Types of estimates Counts and rates of victims; counts and rates of incidents; counts and rates of victimizations Prevalence and estimated number of victims Prevalence Counts and rates of offenses
Geographic level of estimates National National; state National; state; territorial; tribal; local National, state, Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Key uses for sexual victimization data
  • Annual rates and counts of rape and sexual assault victims
  • Annual rates and counts of rape and sexual assault victimizations;
  • Analysis of annual victimization trends from 1992 through present;
  • Comparison of risk among different subgroups, including males and females, and college students;
  • Understanding relationships among incident characteristics and economic, physical, and emotional impacts
  • Understanding why victims of certain crimes or demographic characteristics do and do not report crimes to police
  • Twelve-month prevalence estimates of completed or attempted forced, or alcohol/drug facilitated rape or being made to penetrate, sexual coercion, unwanted sexual contact, and non- contact unwanted sexual experiences
  • Lifetime prevalence estimates of completed or attempted forced, or alcohol/drug facilitated rape or being made to penetrate, sexual coercion, unwanted sexual contact, and non- contact unwanted sexual experiences
  • Understanding immediate physical and mental health impacts of victimization and need for help seeking after victimization
  • Understanding the association of victimization to chronic health conditions
  • Assessing characteristics of victimization experiences such as type, age, sex, and race of perpetrator
  • Subgroup prevalence estimates of victimization by sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation (heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual)
  • Understanding age at first rape, made to penetrate, stalking, and IPV victimization
  • Prevalence estimates on lifetime forced sexual intercourse, last 12 months sexual violence, and last 12 months sexual dating violence among high school students
  • Trends over time in forced sexual intercourse, sexual violence, and sexual dating violence among high school students
  • Subgroup prevalence estimates among high school students for forced sexual intercourse, sexual violence, and sexual dating violence by sex, race/ethnicity, grade in school, and sexual orientation (sexual identity and sex of sexual contacts)
  • Measurement of the relationship between forced sexual intercourse, sexual violence, and sexual dating violence and many other health risk behaviors
  • Annual counts of rape and attempted rape offenses reported to police
  • Analysis of annual trends in forcible rape against females from 1930s through present
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Content Source:
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
  • This content was written by Kathleen C. Basile, PhD Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lynn Langton, PhD Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Leah K. Gilbert, MD Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Findings and conclusions presented on this web page are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).