The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) Resource Page

NOTE: This page will be updated as new related materials become available.

The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), developed by CDC's Injury Center, was initiated in 2010 to collect accurate and reliable incidence and prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence, sexual violence, dating violence, and stalking victimization. Released on December 14, 2011, this data draws important attention to these issues and creates opportunities to advance our intervention and prevention efforts.

Overall, lifetime and one year estimates for sexual violence, stalking and intimate partner violence were alarmingly high for adult Americans; with IPV alone affecting more than 12 million people each year. Women are disproportionately impacted. They experienced high rates of severe intimate partner violence, rape and stalking, and long-term chronic disease and other health impacts such as PTSD symptoms. NISVS also shows that most rape and IPV is first experienced before age 24, highlighting the importance of preventing this violence before it occurs to ensure that all people can live life to their fullest potential.

For more information about the survey, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/nisvs/

** The CDC offered a Partner Briefing for the release of the report on December 14, 2011 at noon Eastern. To access the recording of this briefing, click here, enter your name, and click the "View Recording" button. Follow the prompts and click the pay button under "View by the Live Meeting Replay" to launch the replay. Note: Mac OS System users will not hear the audio portion, but will be able to see the visual presentation. **

The 2010 Report and Related Materials

• NEW! The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation | PDF (124 p.)
  by Mikel L. Walters, Jieru Chen, and Matthew J. Breiding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (January 2013)
  This special report presents information based on respondents’ self-reported sexual orientation and their lifetime victimization experiences of sexual violence, stalking, and violence by an intimate partner.
  + View Summary

• National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report | PDF (124 p.)
  by Michele C. Black, Kathleen C. Basile, Matthew J. Breiding, Sharon G. Smith, Mikel L. Walters, Melissa T. Merrick, Jieru Chen, and Mark R. Stevens for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (November 2011)
  NISVS is an ongoing, nationally representative random digit dial telephone survey that collects information about experiences of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence among non-institutionalized English and/or Spanish-speaking women and men aged 18 or older in the United States. NISVS provides detailed information on the magnitude and characteristics of these forms of violence for the nation and for individual states.
  + View Summary

• NISVS Dear Colleague Letter | DOC (2 p.)
  by Linda C. Degutis for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (December 14, 2011)
  This letter highlights NISVS findings emphasizing that sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are widespread and a major public health problem in the United States.
  + View Summary

• National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Executive Summary | PDF (8 p.)
  by Michele C. Black, Kathleen C. Basile, Matthew J. Breiding, Sharon G. Smith, Mikel L. Walters, Melissa T. Merrick, Jieru Chen, and Mark R. Stevens for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (November 2011)
  This executive summary shares key findings from the 2010 NISVS report, which provides detailed information on the magnitude and characteristics of these forms of violence for the nation and for individual states.
  + View Summary

• National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: Fact Sheet | PDF (2 p.)
  by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (November 2011)
  This fact sheet shares highlights and summary information from the 2010 NISVS report, which provides detailed information on the magnitude and characteristics of these forms of violence for the nation and for individual states.
  + View Summary

• National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey Communications Toolkit | PDF (56 p.)
  by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (November 2011)
  This toolkit contains creative ideas and examples that CDC's partners, grantees, and other groups can use leading up to and following the release of NISVS data.
  + View Summary

Supporting Resources from National Partners

• Findings from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: Implications for Prevention | HTML
  by Michele Lynberg Black, Matt Breiding, and Kathleen Basile for Prevent Connect (February 1 & 2, 2012)
  In December 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the initial findings from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). This survey became the subject of hundreds of news stories about the prevalence of sexual violence, intimate partner violence and stalking. In this web conference, we will share results of the survey and explore the implications for prevention efforts.

• xChange Forum: NISVS | HTML
  from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center
  The xChange Forum is an opportunity for those working to end sexual violence to exchange information. It brings together advocates, educators and researchers to share lessons learned that inform practice and research to create broader social change.

• NISVS Initial Talking Points | HTML
  from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (December 14, 2011)
  On December 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the initial findings of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). This initial set of talking points provide information about the sexual violence findings.

• NISVS Tweet Up Summary | PDF
  from VAWnet, the National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women (January 2012)
  This summary shares themes, questions, and next steps after a brief twitter conversation (#nisvs) one hour afer the 2010 data was released.

• National Research on Sexual Violence: A Look to the Future | HTML
  from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (2011)
  This fact sheet provides an overview of key U.S. national research studies currently available on sexual violence with specific attention the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS).

• NRCDV Briefing Webinar for State Domestic Violence Coalition Directors and Policy Staff | HTML
  by Michele C. (Lynberg) Black and Tessa Burton for the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (April 18, 2011)
  The webinar provides an overview of NISVS and the methodology used, outlines how NISVS compares with previous national surveys measuring violence against women, and identifies upcoming opportunities and resources related to NISVS.
  + View Summary

• Understanding the Differences between National Sexual Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Surveys | HTML
  by Michele (Lynberg) Black for Prevent Connect (May 25 & 26, 2011)
  In this web conference, we will explore the differences between public health and criminal justice surveys when looking at sexual violence and intimate partner violence. The National Intimate Partner Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) will also be referenced.

• From Data to Prevention III: Framing Data to Demonstrate the Need for Primary Prevention | HTML
  by Tessa Allen Burton (Division of Violence Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Kasia Reterska and Heidi Overbeck (Fenton) for Prevent Connect (September 20 & 21, 2011)
  In this web conference, we will discuss NISVS and its messaging implications for the field, explore tools for creating a strong message framework around IPV/SV/stalking data, and workshop questions solicited from the field in advance of the web conference.

• National Research on Sexual Violence: A Look to the Future - An overview for advocates and prevention educators | PDF
  by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (September 2011)
  The goal of this overview is to equip advocates with information about key studies on sexual violence, including the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), as a way to help inform their sexual violence prevention and intervention efforts. This overview includes a brief discussion of the research studies currently available on sexual violence as well as information about NISVS.