Sexual violence is a significant public health problem in the United States. However, measuring the problem can be difficult due to the lack of consistency in the use of terminology and data elements for sexual violence. Without consistency, we cannot monitor and track trends for sexual violence to determine the scope of the problem. To address this issue, CDC's Injury Center, through extensive consultations with researchers and practitioners, has developed Sexual Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data Elements, Version 1.0. These recommendations are crucial for standardizing definitions and data elements for sexual violence surveillance. Better quality and timely incidence and prevalence estimates can be useful for a wide audience, including policymakers, researchers, public health practitioners, victim advocates, service providers, and media professionals.
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Page last modified: April 16, 2009