Data from the National Violence Against Women Survey, the first-ever national study on stalking, sponsored jointly by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirms previous reports that violence against women is predominantly intimate partner violence. Of the women who reported being raped and/or physically assaulted since the age of 18, three-quarters were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, date, or boyfriend. (Tjaden, P. & Thoennes, N. (1998, November). "Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey," p. 12. Research in Brief. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice.)

Women were significantly more likely than men to report being raped or physically assaulted by a current or former intimate partner, whether the timeframe considered was the person's lifetime or the 12 months preceding the survey. Moreover, when raped or physically assaulted by a current or former intimate partner, women were significantly more likely to sustain injuries than men. (Ibid.)

During 1997, about 69,000 out of an estimated 2,671,000 applications for the purchase of a handgun were rejected due to presale background checks of potential purchasers; domestic violence misdemeanor convictions accounted for over 9 percent of the rejections, and domestic violence restraining orders, 2 percent. (Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1998, June). "Presale Handgun Statistics, 1997." Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Among all female murder victims in 1997, 29 percent were slain by husbands or boyfriends. Three percent of the male victims were killed by wives or girlfriends. (Federal Bureau of Investigation. (released November 22, 1998). Crime in the United States, Uniform Crime Reports, 1997, p. 18. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Women of all races were about equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner. (Violence Against Women Grants Office (1997, July). Domestic Violence and Stalking. The Second Annual Report to Congress under the Violence Against Women Act, p. 5, based on data from the 1995 NCVS. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Women between the ages of 19 and 29 and women in families with incomes below $10,000 were more likely than other women to be victims of violence by an intimate partner. (Ibid., p. 6)

Among victims of violence committed by an intimate partner, the victimization rate of women separated from their husbands was about 3 times higher than that of divorced women and about 25 times higher than that of married women. (Ibid., p. 6)

Females were more likely to be victimized by persons whom they knew (62% or 2,981,479 victimizations), while males were more likely to be victimized by strangers (63% or 3,949,285). (Craven, D. (1997, September). "Sex Differences in Violent Victimization, 1994," NCJ-164508, p. 1. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.)

Females were more likely to be victimized at a private home (their own or that of a neighbor, friend or relative) than in any other place. Males were most likely to be victimized in public places such as businesses, parking lots and open spaces. (Ibid., p. 1)

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