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IPV Surveillance 
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Intimate Partner Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data Elements 

picture of ipv surveillance coverViolence against women (VAW) incorporates intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual violence by any perpetrator, and other forms of violence against women (e.g., physical violence committed by acquaintances or strangers). Available data suggest that violence against women is a substantial public health problem in the United States. Police data indicate that 3,631 females died in 1996 as the result of homicide (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1997). Thirty percent of these women were known to have been murdered by a spouse or ex-spouse. Data on nonfatal cases of assault are less easily accessible, but recent survey data suggest that approximately 1.3 million women have been physically assaulted annually and approximately 200,000 women have been raped annually by a current or former intimate partner. Data on lifetime experiences suggest that approximately 22 million women were physically assaulted and approximately 7.8 million women were raped by a current or former intimate partner (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). Although these and other statistics (Bachman & Saltzman, 1995; Straus & Gelles, 1990) are sufficient to suggest the magnitude of the problem, some people believe that statistics on VAW under-represent the scale of the problem, and others believe that reports of violence against women are exaggerated. Much of the debate about the number of women affected by violence has been clouded by the lack of consensus on the scope of the term "violence against women." As indicated by the National Research Council’s report on Understanding Violence Against Women, the term has been used to describe a wide range of acts, including murder, rape and sexual assault, physical assault, emotional abuse, battering, stalking, prostitution, genital mutilation, sexual harassment, and pornography (National Research Council, 1996). Researchers have used terms related to violence against women in different ways and have used different terms to describe the same acts. 

Not surprisingly, these inconsistencies have contributed to varied conclusions about the incidence and prevalence of violence against women. The lack of consistent information about the number of women affected by violence limits our ability to respond to the problem in several ways. First, it limits our ability to gauge the magnitude of violence against women in relation to other public health problems. Second, it limits our ability to identify those groups at highest risk who might benefit from focused intervention or increased services. Third, it limits our ability to monitor changes in the incidence and prevalence of violence against women over time. This, in turn, limits our ability to monitor the effectiveness of violence prevention and intervention activities. Higher quality and more timely incidence and prevalence estimates have the potential to be of use to a wide audience, including policymakers, researchers, public health practitioners, victim advocates, service providers, and media professionals.

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This page last reviewed 08/05/04.

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