Incidence Rates of Violence Against Women: A Comparison of the Redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey and the 1985 National Family Violence Survey

This paper highlights the differences between two of the largest U.S. surveys that attempt to measure violence against women. It explores the factors that contribute to the differences in incidence rates of violence in each study. It also includes a discussion about what each survey tells us about men's and women's use of violence. The surveys examined are the National Crime Victimization Survey sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Family Violence Survey (conducted in 1976 and 1985) sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.