Nearly half of women and approximately two-thirds of men did not receive services after being victims of sexual violence, stalking, or intimate partner violence, according to a survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The 2011 survey, released late last year, found sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence affect the lives of millions in the United States.
“This suggests the critical need for primary prevention to focus on promoting healthy relational behaviors and patterns that can be carried forward into adulthood. Continued surveillance of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence is needed to understand these public health problems better and to serve as a measuring stick by which the success of prevention efforts can be gauged,” the survey advises.
The CDC reported an estimated 19 percent of women and 2 percent of men have been raped during their lifetimes. An estimated 15 percent of women and nearly 6 percent of men have been a victim of stalking during their lifetimes.
Victimization could lead to “serious short- and long-term consequences including physical injury, poor mental health, and chronic physical health problems,” CDC finds. “For some persons, violence victimization results in hospitalization, disability, or death. Furthermore, previous research indicates that victimization as a child or adolescent increases the likelihood that victimization will reoccur in adulthood.”
The majority of victims of sexual violence knew their perpetrators, the survey finds.
Almost half of female victims of rape had at least one perpetrator who was an acquaintance, and an estimated 45 percent of female rape victims had at least one perpetrator who was an intimate partner.
Alcohol and/or drugs were used in more than half of women victimized by an acquaintance.
About 44 percent of women and 23 percent of men experienced other forms of sexual violence during their lifetimes, such as “being made to penetrate, sexual coercion, unwanted sexual contact, and non-contact unwanted sexual experiences.”
Many victims of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence were first victimized at a young age.
Among female victims of rape, about 79 percent were fi rst raped before age 25 years and about 40 percent before age 18 years. Among male victims who were made to penetrate a perpetrator, an estimated 70 percent were victimized before age 25 years; about 21 percent before age 18 years.
An estimated 54 percent of female stalking victims and 48 percent of male stalking victims were fi rst stalked before age 25 years; about 16 percent of female victims and 21 percent of male victims before age 18 years.
Finally, among victims of sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, an estimated 71 percent of women and 58 percent of men fi rst experienced these or other forms of intimate partner violence before age 25 years; about 23 percent of female victims and 14 percent of male victims before age 18 years.
A variety of tactics were used to stalk victims during their lifetimes. An estimated 62 percent of female stalking victims were approached, such as at their home or work; an estimated 55 percent received unwanted messages, such as text and voice messages; an estimated 55 percent received unwanted telephone calls, including hang-ups.
In addition, nearly half of female stalking victims were watched, followed, or spied on with a listening device, camera, or global positioning system (GPS) device.
• An estimated 24 percent of women were fearful
• Almost 21 percent were concerned for their safety
• 20 percent experienced one or more PTSD symptoms
• About 13 percent were physically injured
• Almost 7 percent needed medical care
• Nearly 9 percent needed legal services
• Just over 9 percent missed at least 1 day of work or school
• About 4 percent needed housing services
• Just over 3 percent needed victim advocate services
• Almost 3 percent contacted a crisis hotline
• Nearly 2 percent became pregnant as a result of intimate partner violence
• About 1.5 percent contracted a sexually transmitted infection.
