The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pleased to announce the availability of two new publications that address intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence (SV)—two serious public health problems throughout the United States. According to the National Violence Against Women Survey, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. The same survey found that women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes each year. Men are the victims of about 2.9 million intimate partner-related physical assaults. IPV and SV have lasting harmful effects on the victims, their friends, families, and the surrounding community.

IPV and SV disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities. Recognizing the need for programs that address prevention in minority populations, the CDC funded 10 demonstration projects in Fiscal Year 2000 to develop, implement, and evaluate culturally competent IPV/SV prevention strategies targeted for specific racial/ethnic minority groups. Preventing Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence in Racial/Ethnic Minority Communities: CDC’s Demonstration Projects summarizes the work of the funded projects. The purpose of the document is to describe approaches and highlight challenges and lessons learned in the development, implementation, and evaluation of IPV/SV prevention programs for racial/ethnic minority populations.

The Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Programs Evaluation Guide presents an overview of the importance of evaluation and provides evaluation approaches and strategies that can be applied to SV and IPV programs. Chapters provide practical guidelines for planning and conducting evaluations; information on linking program goals, objectives, activities, outcomes, and evaluation strategies; sources and techniques for data gathering; and tips on analyzing and interpreting the data collected and sharing the results. The Guide discusses formative, process, outcome, and economic evaluation.

Hard copies of these publications can be ordered on-line at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/pubs/ncipc.aspx.  Additional information on IPV and SV can be found on-line at www.cdc.gov/ncipc. We hope that you’ll join CDC in our efforts to promote healthy relationships and prevent IPV and SV.