In our previous post, we discussed the findings of a survey released on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to that survey, the prevalence of sexual and intimate partner violence was found to be significantly higher than expected. The anonymous survey reportedly involved 16,507 U.S. adults.

According to Linda Degutis, head of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the report demonstrates the broad impact of domestic violence, staking and intimate partner violence on adults in the United States.

As we noted, the survey is the first of what is expected to become a yearly survey of domestic violence.

According to federal officials, there is no previous data to compare with the new data, though some have said that the lifetime estimate of one in five female victims, which translates to around 1.3 million rapes per year, is close to previous estimates of intimate partner violence, but much larger than others. A survey taken conducted by the Justice Department has estimated around 200,000 sexual assaults per year. So the new data needs to be seen in context.

Still, experts agree that domestic violence is a crime that affect almost every family in America in some way, some states more than others. Among the states with higher rape and attempted rape rates were Alaska, Oregon and Nevada. Virginia and Tennessee had the lowest numbers.

Hopefully the CDC survey will spur state agencies to enhance efforts to protect victims of domestic violence.

Source: Seattle Times, "Study: Sexual violence affects 1 in 5 women," Rob Stein, December 14, 2011.