U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Estimating the Incidence and Prevalence of Violence Against Women: National Data Systems and Sources

NCJ Number
183705
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 6 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2000 Pages: 784-804
Author(s)
Richard J. Gelles
Date Published
July 2000
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article estimates the incidence and prevalence of violence against women.
Abstract
The article examines the national data systems and sources used to assess the extent and seriousness of violence against women. The major sources are the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Supplementary Homicide Reports, which provide data on intimate partner homicides; the Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey; three national self-report surveys; and various data from hospitals and emergency rooms. Although there are a variety of national data systems that could be used to collect data on cases of violence against women seen and/or treated by health care institutions, such data systems cannot yet provide local or national data. Self-report surveys, including the National Crime Victimization Survey and other national surveys, have yielded estimates of the rates of violence against women that vary from 7.5 to 117 per 1,000 women. The article analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of data sources, systems, and estimates. Table, note, references

Downloads

No download available

Availability