United States National Violence Against Women Survey 1995-1996

The National Violence Against Women (NVAW) Survey was jointly sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to gain a better understanding of violence against women. Conducted from November 1995 to May 1996, the survey sample was drawn by random digit dialing (RDD) from households with a telephone in the 50 States and the District of Columbia, and was administered by U.S. Census region. A total of 8,000 women and 8,005 men age 18 and older were interviewed using a computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) system. The survey results focus on issues such as the prevalence and incidence of rape, physical assault, and stalking, intimate partner violence, violence experienced as a minor and as an adult, risk of violence among racial minorities and Hispanics, and consequent use of medical services. The implications of the results for future social policy is also discussed.