The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a new report, National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2023/2024 Sexual Violence Data Brief. This report highlights the most recent findings from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), specifically around experiences of sexual violence. It offers the first set of data since 2016/2017. NISVS is the most current and comprehensive national- and state-level data on intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking victimization in the United States. This survey is reflective of the scope of sexual violence as a public health issue as it does not rely solely on reports to law enforcement, given the high levels of underreporting for these crimes.
Here, we’ll highlight some of that data and talk about its implications for our work to address and prevent sexual violence.
Who Experiences Abuse?
- Nearly half of women (45.1%) in the United States experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetimes, with 21% reporting completed or attempted rape, 20.3% reporting sexual coercion, and 39% reporting unwanted sexual contact.
- More than 1 in 6 men (16.9%) in the U.S. experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetimes, with 3.2% reporting completed or attempted rape, 3.8% reporting being made to sexually penetrate someone else, 6% reporting sexual coercion, and 13.8% reporting unwanted sexual contact.
What’s New?
- For the first time, NISVS collected data about technology-facilitated sexual violence victimization.
- Technology-facilitated sexual violence is unwanted sexual experiences involving technology, including unwanted sexually explicit messages and images without the victims’ consent online.
- 10.3% of adult women and 6.9% of adult men experienced technology-facilitated sexual violence in the 12 months before taking the survey.
- The report also included state-level prevalence data.
Where Does Abuse Occur?
- Approximately 1 in 3 women in the U.S. experienced verbal sexual harassment in the workplace (30.4%) or public place (29.5%), and more than 1 in 4 women experienced technology-facilitated sexual violence in their lifetimes (28.2%).
- One in 14 men (7.1%) in the U.S. experienced verbal sexual harassment in a public place. 1 in 9 men (11.3%) experienced verbal sexual harassment in the workplace, and 1 in 6 men (15.4%) experienced technology-facilitated sexual violence in their lifetimes.
Data Considerations
Data collection did not include transgender and nonbinary individuals; individuals under the age of 18; and adults in institutional settings or those experiencing homelessness.
The data should not be compared to previous data years due to changes in methodology and the addition of new sexual violence questions.
State-level data should not be compared between states as reports of violence were associated with current residence, not where (lifetime) violence occurred.
What Does This Mean for Our Work?
Sexual violence remains a significant public health issue, but one that is preventable. Preventing sexual violence before it has a chance to happen is critical. Comprehensive prevention efforts are helpful in preventing sexual violence on a large scale. These include efforts that:
- teach skills,
- change norms,
- create protective environments,
- address structural factors,
- increase economic stability, and
- support victims
It is the collective responsibility of individuals, communities, and institutions to prevent sexual violence. We encourage everyone to participate in this year’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaign, during which we’ll be discussing these findings, what they mean for our communities today, and what actions we can commit to that make our environments safe and respectful for all.