Maestra

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
National Institute of Justice

Full Report of the
Prevalence, Incidence,
and Consequences of
Violence Against Women
research report

Findings From the National
Violence Against Women Survey

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
810 Seventh Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20531
Janet Reno
Attorney General
DanielMarcus
Acting Associate Attorney General
Mary Lou Leary
Acting Assistant Attorney General
Julie E. Samuels
Acting Director, National Institute of Justice

Office of Justice Programs
World Wide Web Site
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov

National Institute of Justice
World Wide Web Site
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij

Full Report of the
Prevalence, Incidence,
and Consequences of ViolenceAgainst Women
Patricia Tjaden
Nancy Thoennes

Findings From the National
Violence Against Women Survey

November 2000
NCJ 183781

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
AND PREVENTION

Julie E. Samuels
Acting Director, National Institute of Justice

Stephen B. Thacker
Acting Director, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

This research was sponsored under award number93–IJ–CX–0012 by the National Institute of Justice, Office of
Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Findings and
conclusions of the research presented here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position
or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The National Institute of Justice is a component of the Officeof Justice Programs, which also includes the
Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

iii

Executive Summary

Key Issues
Research on violence against women has exploded in the past 20 years, particularly in the
areas of intimate partner violence and sexual
assault.Despite this outpouring of research,
many gaps exist in our understanding of violence against women. For instance, reliable
information on minority women’s experiences
with violence is still lacking. Few empirical
data exist on the relationship between different
forms of violence against women, such as
victimization in childhood and subsequent
victimization. Finally, empirical data on theconsequences of violence against women, including their injury rates and use of medical
services, are lacking.
To further understanding of violence against
women, the National Institute of Justice and
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
jointly sponsored, through a grant to the Center for Policy Research, a national survey that
was conducted from November 1995 to May
1996. TheNational Violence Against Women
(NVAW) Survey sampled both women and
men and thus provides comparable data on
women’s and men’s experiences with violent
victimization.

Respondents who disclosed that they had been
victimized were asked detailed questions about
the characteristics and consequences of their
victimization, including injuries they sustained
and their use of medicalservices.
This NIJ Research Report presents findings
from the NVAW Survey on the prevalence
and incidence of rape, physical assault, and
stalking; the rate of injury among rape and
physical assault victims; and injured victims’
use of medical services. The data show that
violence is more widespread and injurious to
women’s and men’s health than previously
thought—an important finding forlegislators,
policymakers, intervention planners, and
researchers as well as the public health and
criminal justice communities.

Key Findings
Analysis of survey data on the prevalence,
incidence, and consequences of violence
against women produced the following results:
q

Respondents to the survey were asked about:
q

q

q

Physical assault they experienced as children by adult...