Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence

The survey, which was conducted from November 1995 to May 1996, consisted of telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 8,000 U.S. women and 8,000 U.S. men about their experiences as victims of various forms of violence, including intimate partner violence. The survey compared intimate partner victimization rates among women and men, specific racial groups, Hispanics and Non-Hispanics, and same-sex and opposite-sex cohabitants. It also examined risk factors associated with intimate partner violence, the rate of injury among rape and physical assault victims, injured victims' use of medical services, and victims' involvement with the justice system. Among the survey findings are that intimate partner violence is pervasive in U.S. society, with nearly 25 percent of surveyed women and 7.6 percent of surveyed men reporting that they were raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date at some time in their lifetime; 1.5 percent of surveyed women and 0.9 percent of surveyed men said the were raped and/or physically assaulted by a partner in the previous 12 months. Based on these estimates, this report indicates that approximately 1.5 million women and 834,732 men are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States. Policy implications of the survey findings are discussed.