Prevent Domestic Violence in Your Community

Couple lying on grass, listening to music and smiling

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Learn how you can strengthen intimate partner violence prevention efforts in your community.

CDC’s goal is to stop intimate partner violence (IPV) before it begins. This type of violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples and does not require sexual intimacy. It exists along a range from a single episode of violence to severe episodes over a period of years.

IPV is common. Data from CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) indicate:

Nearly 1 in 5 adult women and about 1 in 7 adult men report having experienced severe physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.
About 1 in 6 women and 1 in 12 men have experienced contact sexual violence from an intimate partner (this includes rape, being made to penetrate someone else, sexual coercion, and unwanted sexual contact).
Ten percent of women and 2 percent of men report having been stalked by an intimate partner.

Join CDC in Preventing Intimate Partner Violence

All forms of IPV are preventable. We know that strategies that promote healthy behaviors in relationships are important. Programs that teach young people skills (e.g., communication and problem solving) can prevent violence. These programs can stop violence in dating relationships before it occurs.

CDC has developed a technical package, Preventing Intimate Partner Violence across the Lifespan: A Technical Package of Programs, Policy, and Practices[4.52 MB] to help states and communities prioritize efforts to prevent intimate partner violence. A technical package is a collection of strategies that represent the best available evidence to prevent or reduce public health problems such as violence.

Read more about how you can get started implementing the technical package in your violence prevention work today!