Preventing Intimate Partner 

& Sexual Violence

Program Activities Guide
Preventing Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence

The Facts 

Intimate partner violence is actual or threatened physical, 

sexual, psychological, or emotional abuse by a current or 

former spouse (including common-law spouse), dating 

partner, or boyfriend or girlfriend. Intimate partners can 

be of the same or opposite sex. 

Sexual violence is a completed or attempted sex act 

against the victim’s will or involving a victim who is unable to consent; abusive sexual contact; and non-contact 

sexual abuse, including sexual harassment. It is committed by an intimate or non-intimate perpetrator such as 

a spouse, family member, friend, person in position of 

power or trust, acquaintance, or stranger. Although there 

is some overlap between intimate partner violence and 

sexual violence, the latter is committed by a wider range 

of perpetrators. 

Victims of intimate partner and sexual violence can 

experience physical injury; mental health consequences 

such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and suicide 

attempts; and other health consequences such as gastrointestinal disorders, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and gynecological or pregnancy complications. These consequences can lead to hospitalization, 

disability, or death. Women experience more chronic and 

injurious assaults from intimate partner violence than 

men. 

According to findings from the National Violence 

Against Women Survey published in 2000: 

• Each year, women experience about 4.8 million 

intimate partner related physical assaults and rapes. 

Men are the victims of about 2.9 million intimate 

partner related physical assaults. 

• Nearly two-thirds of women who reported being 

raped, physically assaulted, or stalked since age 18 

were victimized by a current or former husband, 

cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date. 

• In the United States, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men 

reported experiencing an attempted or completed 

rape at some time in their lives. 

• More than half of all rapes of females occur before 

age 18, and of these, 22% occur before age 12. 

CDC’s Role

CDC’s violence prevention activities are guided by four 

key principles: 

• An emphasis on primary prevention of violence 

perpetration. CDC emphasizes efforts that prevent 

violence before it occurs. CDC focuses on reducing 

the factors that put people at risk for perpetration 

while increasing the factors that protect people from 

becoming perpetrators of violence. 

• A commitment to a rigorous science base. Monitoring and tracking trends; researching risk and 

protective factors; rigorously evaluating prevention 

strategies, programs and policies; and learning how 

best to implement them adds to the base of what is 

known about violence and how to prevent it. 

• A cross-cutting perspective. Public health encompasses many disciplines and perspectives, making 

its approach well-suited for examining and addressing multifaceted problems like violence. 

• A population approach. Part of public health’s 

broad view is an emphasis on population health and 

not just the health of individuals. Violence is experienced acutely by individuals but its consequences 

and potential solutions affect society in general. 

CDC’s strategic direction for intimate partner violence 

prevention is promoting respectful, nonviolent intimate 

partner relationships through individual, community, 

and societal change. Additional information about 

CDC’s programs and activities to prevent intimate 

partner and sexual violence is available at www.cdc.gov/

violenceprevention.

Key Partners 

Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence requires 

the support and contributions of many partners: federal 

agencies, state and local health departments, nonprofit 

organizations, academic institutions, international agencies, and private industry. Partners help in a variety of 

ways, including collecting data about violence, learning 

about risk factors, developing strategies for prevention, 

and ensuring that effective prevention approaches reach 

those in need. 

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Monitoring, Tracking, and Researching the Problem

Measuring the Incidence and Prevalence 

of Intimate Partner Violence and 

Sexual Violence

CDC supported two optional modules on intimate 

partner violence and sexual violence for inclusion in the 

2005, 2006, and 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The intimate partner violence 

module included seven questions and the sexual violence 

module included eight questions. State-level statistics on 

the prevalence of intimate partner violence and sexual 

violence enabled participating state health officials and 

policy makers to better understand the magnitude of the 

problems in their state and provided information that 

may be used to guide policy development and evaluation. 

National Intimate Partner and Sexual 

Violence Surveillance System

CDC developed the National Intimate Partner and 

Sexual Violence Surveillance System (NISVSS) in 

collaboration with the National Institute of Justice and 

the U.S. Department of Defense. Beginning in 2010, 

NISVSS will provide national and state-level data, 

producing frequent, consistent, and reliable information on the magnitude and nature of intimate partner 

violence, sexual violence and stalking. Using consistent 

definitions and survey methods over time, NISVSS will 

provide improved prevalence of lifetime and 12-month 

estimates to monitor trends and to guide and evaluate 

intervention and prevention efforts. 

National Electronic Injury Surveillance 

System—All Injury Program 

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System – 

All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) is operated by the U.S. 

Consumer Product Safety Commission in collaboration with the National Center for Injury Prevention and 

Control. It provides nationally-representative data about 

all types and causes of nonfatal injuries treated in U.S. 

hospital emergency departments. CDC uses NEISS-AIP 

data to generate national estimates of nonfatal injuries, 

including those related to intimate partner violence and 

sexual violence. 

N

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Intimate Partner Violence 

Perpetration Study 

CDC is studying how issues of power and control contribute to the development of intimate partner violence 

perpetration. Results of the study will help scientists 

determine the best way to prevent perpetration. Information was collected from January 2005 through April 

2006 from male batterers in a court-mandated treatment 

program to identify factors that lead to intimate partner violence perpetration. Data analyses are currently 

underway. 

Development and Intergenerational 

Paths to Partner Violence and 

Child Maltreatment

Researchers for the University of Colorado at Boulder are examining intimate partner violence and child 

maltreatment in a longitudinal, intergenerational context. 

The core objective of the CDC-funded study is to identify the developmental pathways and social circumstances 

that lead to perpetration and to identify protective factors 

that generate resilience in the face of risk. 

Roots of Sexual Abuse

CDC is funding researchers at the University of Minnesota to examine the factors that distinguish sexual abuse 

perpetration from delinquent behavior. The study will 

focus on male adolescents and their caregivers. A major 

obstacle to developing prevention programs for child 

sexual abuse is lack of information about its causes and 

correlates, especially in young offenders. 

Perpetration of Partner Violence Among 

Adolescents from Violent Homes

CDC is funding researchers at Southern Methodist University to explore partner violence among adolescents 

exposed to violence at home. Findings will offer insight 

into risk and protective factors of adolescent partner violence and inform the development of targeted prevention 

programs for adolescents from violent homes.

Etiologic Frameworks to Prevent 

Gender Based Violence Among 

Immigrant Latinos

CDC is funding George Washington University School 

of Public Health and Health Services to examine the 

etiology of gender-related violence among immigrant 

Latino populations. Working with the SAFER Latinos 

project, researchers are assessing the community problem solving capacity in an immigrant Latino neighborhood, identifying gaps in available prevention programming, and developing an etiological model and best 

practices approach that can provide the foundation for a 

community-based intervention.

Mapping Etiological Pathways to 

Sexual Violence Perpetration from 

Childhood to Young Adulthood

CDC is funding Internet Solutions for Kids, Inc. to 

extend the follow-up of the Growing Up with Media cohort. Growing Up with Media is a national, longitudinal 

survey of adolescents designed to identify the associations between exposure to violence in new media and 

the subsequent expression of seriously violent behavior. 

Findings from the extended study will provide insight 

into the etiology of sexual violence perpetration as youth 

transition from adolescence into adulthood.

Understanding Risk and Protective 

Factors for Sexual Violence 

Perpetration and the Overlap 

with Bullying Behavior

CDC is conducting a study to examine the association between bullying experiences and co-occurring 

and subsequent sexual violence among middle school 

students to inform sexual violence prevention strategies 

for schools. The study explores the risk and protective 

factors of bullying and sexual violence and examines 

the ways adolescent behavior is shaped by family, peers, 

and school environments. Approximately 3,500 middle 

school students in 140 classrooms across two school 

districts are participating. 

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Developing and Evaluating Prevention Strategies

Choose Respect

CDC’s Choose Respect initiative is a national effort to 

help youth form healthy relationships to prevent dating 

abuse before it starts. Choose Respect provides information and educational tools to challenge harmful beliefs 

about unhealthy relationship behaviors and to reinforce 

positive attitudes about respectful relationships. The 

initiative targets adolescents ages 11 to 14 and also 

connects with parents, teachers, youth leaders and other 

caregivers who influence the lives of young teens.

Teen Dating Violence Initiative

CDC is developing a teen dating violence initiative to 

implement and evaluate a comprehensive approach to 

promoting respectful, nonviolent dating relationships. 

The initiative will target 11 to 14 year olds in high-risk, 

urban communities. An overall goal of the initiative is to 

create community environments that foster and support 

healthy adolescent relationships.

Enhancing and Making Programs 

Work to End Rape (EMPOWER) 

The EMPOWER project began in 2005 as a three-year 

prevention planning, implementation and evaluation capacity building project supporting Colorado, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Kentucky, and New 

Jersey. Using an empowerment evaluation approach, 

CDC works intensively with states to build individual 

and sexual violence prevention system capacity and to 

develop program planning, implementation, evaluation 

and sustainability tools and training. The six states are 

developing statewide sexual violence prevention plans 

and will be implementing and evaluating the plans. 

Effectiveness and Implementation Trial 

of the Safe Dates Program

CDC is evaluating the intervention effectiveness, economic cost, and implementation of Safe Dates, a schoolbased adolescent dating violence prevention program 

aimed at preventing violence perpetration and victimization. Scientists are evaluating the effectiveness of Safe 

Dates with a diverse group of adolescents, as well as 

gathering information about the conditions under which 

the program can be implemented in new settings or with 

new populations most effectively and efficiently.

Preventing Sexual and intimate Partner 

violence within racial/ethnic 

minority communities

CDC is working with the Migrant Clinicians Network 

and the National Indian Justice Center to build organizational capacity and develop a program model that is 

culturally relevant and focused on engaging men and 

boys in the primary prevention of sexual violence and 

intimate partner violence. The aim of this initiative is to 

promote change in men’s knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, 

and behaviors that support or allow violence against 

women. The grantees are developing, pilot testing, and 

evaluating prevention strategies within their communities.

effectiveness of Screening for intimate 

Partner violence in Primary care 

CDC is working with the Research Collaborative Unit 

of John H. Stroger Hospital in Chicago to conduct a 

randomized controlled trial to establish the impact of 

screening for intimate partner violence on health and 

quality of life. The pilot test for this study has been completed and the full study has begun enrolling participants.

evaluation of a Workplace Program 

for victims of Partner violence 

CDC is evaluating the manager training portion of a 

workplace program for victims of partner violence. The 

training consists of raising awareness about intimate 

partner violence, recognizing signs of violence, and 

dealing with employees who may experience intimate 

partner violence. 

Family-based Prevention of conduct 

Problems to Prevent intimate Partner 

violence Development

Researchers from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice 

are examining the impact of a family-based intervention 

aimed at children with early conduct problems. Early 

conduct problems have been identified as one of the 

most robust risk factors for intimate partner violence. 

Findings from the CDC-funded study may inform a 

novel approach to preventing intimate partner violence 

in youth who would be most resistant to standard interventions when they reach adolescence. 

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Dyadic, Skills Based Primary Prevention for 

Partner Violence in Perinatal Parents

Researchers from the State University of New York 

at Stony Brook are conducting trials to determine the 

outcomes of Couple CARE for Parents, a program that 

addresses interpersonal processes and promotes relationship skills. The CDC-funded project aims to identify 

factors that may reduce intimate partner violence such 

as communication skills, conflict behaviors, parenting 

expectations, and parenting stress. 

Telephone Care Management to Prevent 

Further Intimate Partner Violence

CDC is funding researchers from the Children’s Research Institute to investigate the acceptability, safety, efficacy, and cost of Telephone Care Management (TCM) 

intervention to prevent further intimate partner violence. 

TCM provides women who have reported violence with 

education, referral assistance, and problem solving for 

common barriers to receiving advocacy services.

Green Dot Across the Bluegrass: Evaluation 

of a Primary Prevention Intervention

CDC is working with researchers from the University 

of Texas to evaluate the Green Dot program, a statewide 

bystander intervention program for the primary prevention of sexual violence. Green Dot empowers students 

to actively question peer support for sexual violence and 

to become agents for change. The evaluation will be conducted in Kentucky high schools.

Multi-site Evaluation of Second Step: 

Student Success Through Prevention

CDC is working with researchers from the University 

of Illinois to conduct an evaluation of the Second Step: 

Student Success Through Prevention program, a middle 

school intervention targeting the shared risk and protective factors for bullying, sexual harassment, and dating 

aggression. Sixth graders from 32 schools in Illinois and 

Kansas are participating.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of an 

Adolescent Perpetration Prevention Program

CDC is funding researchers from the University of California, Davis to examine the effectiveness of a primary 

prevention program for intimate partner violence and 

sexual assault. The Coaching Boys into Men program 

aims to reduce perpetration and promote bystander intervention by engaging coaches as positive role models to 

high school age male athletes. Male athletes in 14 large 

urban high schools are participating.

PTSD Focused Relationship Enhancement 

Therapy for Returning Veterans 

CDC is funding Boston Veterans Affairs Research Institute 

to develop and test a couples-based, group intervention 

for married or partnered Operation Enduring Freedom /

Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans to prevent the perpetration of intimate partner violence. The program will 

incorporate components of several interventions for post 

traumatic stress disorder and intimate partner violence.

Enhancing Bystander Efficacy to Prevent 

Sexual Violence: Extending Primary 

Prevention to First Year College Students

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire are 

implementing and evaluating a bystander approach to 

preventing sexual violence. The CDC-funded study 

includes a multi-session prevention program and a social 

marketing campaign. Approximately 700 participants 

from two college campuses are participating.

Supporting and Enhancing Prevention Programs

Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement 

and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA)

CDC is funding 14 state domestic violence coalitions to 

implement and evaluate prevention strategies that can 

be integrated into Coordinated Community Responses 

(CCRs) or similar community-based collaborations. 

The DELTA Program adds a significant primary prevention focus to the existing CCR model by funding state 

domestic violence coalitions that act as intermediary 

organizations, providing prevention-focused technical 

assistance, training, and funding to local communities. 

Funded state coalitions are Alaska, California, Delaware, 

Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New York, North 

Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, 

and Wisconsin. CDC is also funding an evaluation of 

the DELTA project that assesses the DELTA Program’s 

success in building capacity to implement and evaluate 

primary prevention strategies throughout each funded 

state and within funded CCRs.

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DELTA-PREP Program

Building on the successes of the DELTA Program, 

CDC, in collaboration with the CDC Foundation and 

the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has developed 

the DELTA-PREP Program to provide training, technical assistance, and funding to non-DELTA state domestic violence coalitions that are ready to build their 

capacity to prevent intimate partner violence. Through 

training, technical assistance, and coaching from current 

DELTA Program grantees, DELTA-PREP coalitions will 

begin integrating primary prevention concepts and principles within their daily practice and promoting primary 

prevention with state and local partners.

Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Program 

CDC administers and provides technical assistance for 

the Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Grant program 

to help health departments and sexual assault coalitions 

more effectively use funds provided through the Violence 

Against Women Act. The funding—designed to enable 

states to educate communities about sexual violence and 

develop prevention programs—supports educational 

seminars, hotlines, training programs for professionals, 

the development of informational materials, and special 

programs for underserved communities. Through RPE, 

states and territories have strengthened their infrastructure to address sexual violence and to implement prevention and education programs. 

Providing Prevention Resources

National Sexual Violence Resource Center 

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) 

identifies and disseminates information, resources, and 

research on all aspects of sexual violence prevention 

and intervention. Staff provide customized technical 

assistance, collaborate with other national and local 

organizations, and specialize in offering resources for 

underserved communities. Additional activities include 

coordinating national sexual assault awareness activities; identifying emerging policy issues and research 

needs; issuing a biannual newsletter; and recommending 

speakers and trainers. The NSVRC website features links 

to resources, including information about conferences, 

funding, jobs, research, and special events. The Center 

serves state sexual assault coalitions, rape crisis centers, 

government agencies, U.S. Territories and tribal entities, 

colleges and universities, service providers, researchers, 

allied organizations, policymakers, media, and the public. The NSVRC is a project of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape.

www.nsvrc.org 

1-877-739-3895 

Prevention Connection 

Prevention Connection: The Violence Against Women 

Prevention Partnership integrates web-based technology 

and promotes web conferences to build the capacity of 

local, state, national, and tribal agencies and organizations to develop, implement, and evaluate effective violence against women prevention initiatives. Prevention 

Connection provides a vehicle for ongoing analysis and 

discussion of domestic and sexual violence prevention 

efforts. Online forums feature a variety of prevention 

experts who explore and discuss approaches and comprehensive solutions to domestic and sexual violence. 

Prevention Connection is a project of the California 

Coalition Against Sexual Assault. 

www.preventconnect.org 

916-446-2520 

Violence Against Women Electronic Network 

The National Online Resource Center on Violence 

Against Women (VAWnet) provides support for the 

development, implementation, and maintenance of effective violence against women intervention and prevention 

efforts at national, state, and local levels. VAWnet provides a collection of full-text, searchable electronic resources on intimate partner violence and related issues to 

state domestic violence coalitions, allied organizations, 

and the public. It offers useful links; monitors news 

coverage of violence against women issues; provides 

calendars of trainings, conferences, and grant deadlines; 

presents interpretations of current research; and provides 

information about Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 

VAWnet is a project of the Pennsylvania Coalition 

Against Domestic Violence.

www.vawnet.org 

1-800-537-2238 

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Key Publications

Uniform Definitions and Recommended 

Data Elements

In 1999, CDC published Intimate Partner Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data 

Elements to improve and standardize data collected on 

intimate partner violence. Similar standards for sexual 

violence, Sexual Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data Elements, were published 

in 2002. Uniform definitions and recommended data 

elements are important because they provide consistency 

in the use of terminology and standardization in data collection. Consistent data allow researchers to better gauge 

the scope of the problem, identify high-risk groups, and 

monitor the effects of prevention programs.

Screening Inventory for Use in 

Health Care Settings

Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Victimization Assessment Instruments for Use in Healthcare 

Settings is a compilation of existing tools for assessing 

intimate partner violence and sexual violence victimization in clinical/healthcare settings. The compilation 

provides practitioners and clinicians with the most current inventory of assessment tools and informs decisions 

about which instruments are most appropriate for use 

with a given population. 

Compendium of Assessment Tools for 

Victimization and Perpetration

Measuring Intimate Partner Violence Victimization 

and Perpetration: A Compendium of Assessment Tools

provides researchers and prevention specialists with a 

set of assessment tools with demonstrated reliability and 

validity for measuring the self-reported incidence and 

prevalence of intimate partner violence victimization and 

perpetration. The information can help researchers and 

practitioners make informed decisions when choosing 

scales to use in their work.

Preventing child Sexual abuse Within 

organizations Serving children and Youth

CDC has developed Preventing Child Sexual Abuse 

Within Youth-serving Organizations: Getting Started on 

Policies and Procedures to assist youth-serving organizations as they begin to adopt prevention strategies for 

child sexual abuse. The guide identifies six key components of child sexual abuse prevention for organizations 

and includes prevention goals and critical strategies for 

each component. 

evaluation guide for Prevention Programs

The Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence Prevention 

Programs Evaluation Guide presents an overview of the 

importance of evaluation and provides evaluation approaches and strategies that can be applied to programs. 

Chapters provide practical guidelines for planning and 

conducting evaluations; information on linking program 

goals, objectives, activities, outcomes, and evaluation 

strategies; sources and techniques for data gathering; and 

tips on analyzing and interpreting the data collected and 

sharing the results. 

evaluation for improvement

Evaluation for Improvement: A Seven-Step Empowerment Evaluation Approach is designed to help violence 

prevention organizations hire an empowerment evaluator 

who will assist them in building their evaluation capacity 

through a learn-by-doing process of evaluating their own 

strategies. It is for state and local leaders and staff members of organizations, coalitions, government agencies, 

and partnerships working to prevent violence. 

intimate Partner violence Strategic Direction

The strategic direction for intimate partner violence 

describes a five-year vision for CDC’s prevention work. 

The overall strategy for preventing intimate partner violence is to promote respectful, nonviolent relationships 

through individual-, relationship-, community-, and 

societal-level change. 

For information on CDC’s international work related to intimate partner and sexual violence, 

see www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/globalviolence/index.html.

For more information, please contact:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

1-800-CDC-INFO • cdcinfo@cdc.gov • www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention