Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence

Sexual violence refers to any sexual activity where consent is not obtained or freely given. Perpetrators are usually someone known to the victim. There are many types of sexual violence, including physical acts, such as unwanted touching and unwanted sexual penetration, as well as acts that do not involve physical contact between the victim and the perpetrator—including sexual harassment, threats, and peeping.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is abuse that occurs between two people in a close relationship. This includes current and former spouses and dating partners. IPV exists along a continuum from a single episode of violence to ongoing battering. IPV includes four types of behavior: physical abuse, sexual abuse, threats of physical or sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.

Notable Facts

• According to the NC Council for Women and Domestic Violence Commission, the 75 rape crisis centers across North Carolina received 22,031 crisis calls and served 13,736 victims of sexual assault between March 2013 and March 2014
• About ten percent of women over the age of 18 in North Carolina report ever experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime (CDC, 2010)
• Twenty-one percent of homicides with known circumstances in 2013 were associated with IPV (NC IVPB, 2015a)

Goal

• Prevent the first-time perpetration of sexual and intimate partner violence

Prevention Strategies

1. Increase understanding of strengths and gaps of NC laws, policies, and procedures related to sexual and intimate partner violence
2. Eliminate gaps in laws, policies, and procedures related to sexual and intimate partner violence
3. Strengthen capacity of rape crisis centers, domestic violence service providers, health departments, communities, and key stakeholders, including businesses and faith institutions, to prevent sexual and intimate partner violence, with an emphasis on reducing risk and increasing protective factors
4. Increase the capacity of NC public schools to address sexual violence, teen dating violence, and intimate partner violence prevention
5. Increase the capacity of higher education institutions to address sexual and intimate partner violence prevention

Indicators of Progress

• Report outlining strengths and gaps within laws, policies, procedures related to sexual and intimate partner violence
• Selection of strategies to maximize strengths and address gaps
• Number of college/university campuses, school districts, local health departments, businesses, and faith institutions with sexual and intimate partner violence prevention policies, procedures, and protocols in place
• Number of ED visits due to cases or suspected cases of sexual or intimate partner violence

Potential Implementing Agencies

• Businesses
• Campus Consortium for Sexual Assault Prevention
• Colleges and Universities
• DELTA FOCUS State Steering Committee
• Faith communities
• Local domestic violence service providers
• Local health departments
• Local rape crisis centers
• NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault
• NC Department of Public Instruction
• NC Division of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch
• NC Office on Disability and Health
• NC Sexual Violence Prevention Team
• Rape Prevention Education Program Grantees
• School districts