7.15: Intimate Partner Abuse
Violence in romantic relationships is a significant concern for women in early adulthood as females aged 18 to 34 generally experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence. The last National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) was conducted in 2011 (Breiding et al., 2014). The NISVS examines the prevalence of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking among women and men in the United States over the respondent’s lifetime and during the 12 months before the interview. A total of 6,879 women and 5,848 men completed the survey. Based on the results, women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking.
Results included:
- Nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 59 men have been raped in their lifetime.
- Almost 1 in 4 women have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner, while 1 in 7 men have experienced the same.
- A little over 1 in 6 women have been stalked during their lifetime, compared to 1 in 19 men.
- More than 1 in 4 women and more than 1 in 10 men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner and reported significant short- or long-term impacts, such as post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and injury.
- An estimated 1 in 2 individuals experienced at least one act of psychological aggression by an intimate partner during their lifetime.
- Female victims of intimate partner violence experience different patterns of violence (rape, physical violence, stalking) than male victims who most often experienced physical violence.
- Men and women who experienced these forms of violence were more likely to report frequent headaches, chronic pain, difficulty with sleeping, activity limitations, poor physical health, and poor mental health than men and women who did not experience these forms of violence.
