RPE Indicator Dashboard
The purpose of the Wyoming Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Program Dashboard is to visualize indicators and data sources that measure overarching risk and protective factors that impact sexual violence in Wyoming.
Violence takes many forms including intimate partner violence, sexual violence, bullying, suicidal behavior, and child abuse and neglect. These different forms of violence are interconnected and often share the same root causes, occur in the same homes and communities, and can happen at the same time or across the lifespan.1
Violence is a complex interaction that can be influenced positively or negatively by different factors. Communities people live in can have characteristics that either increase the likelihood of experiencing violence, or decrease the likelihood of experiencing violence. Those factors that increase a person’s risk of experiencing violence are called risk factors. Those factors that decrease a person’s risk are called protective factors. The indicators on this dashboard have been identified as measures of either risk or protective factors for sexual violence. For a complete list of shared risk and protective factors and how they interact across multiple forms of violence please see the CDC’s publication Connecting the Dots: An Overview of the Links Among Multiple Forms of Violence.1
Racial and ethnic minority women and men continue to bear a relatively heavier burden of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence.2 It is important to remember that there is a long history of differences in communities where people live, work, and play. These differences can be linked to poor health for communities, and are out of one person’s control. Changing laws and the way services are offered can improve health for all people. Use these facts when looking at health data. Health data about race, culture, or income can mean more about the community where a person lives, works, or plays than the person.
Understanding that different forms of violence overlap and what things help protect people and communities from violence is important and will help us prevent not only sexual violence but violence in all forms.
2. Smith, S.G., Zhang, X., Basile, K.C., Merrick, M.T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M., Chen, J. (2018). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2015 Data Brief – Updated Release. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.