Sexual Assault and Stalking in the Context of Domestic Violence

Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV) can be defined as any sexual contact or activity with your intimate partner that makes you feel uncomfortable, with the purpose of controlling you through fear, threats or violence.

Prevalence

Research indicates that one out of ten people has been raped by an intimate partner[1] and at least 60% of domestically abused women have been sexually assaulted by their batterers.[2] Furthermore, 76% of women who were killed by an intimate partner were stalked in the twelve months preceding the crime. Domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking intersect in ways that can increase risk of serious harm and fatality for victims.

Project

Funded by the Department of Justice through the Office of Crime Victims Advocacy, Washington sexual assault and domestic violence programs and state-wide partners are currently working to serve victims by developing ways to identify sexual assault and stalking within the context of domestic violence and then bringing additional criminal charges against the offender.

WCSAP provides technical assistance to local sexual assault and domestic violence programs to enhance their response to survivors of IPSV through:

the development of resources and tools for advocates
advocacy trainings
assistance with the development of policies and protocols to increase systems response and encourage arrest of the offender.

Resources & Tools

Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A WCSAP Publication

STOP the Silence About Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (poster)

New! Stalking Incident Log (brochure)

New! Know the Truth about Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (brochure)

Screening Questions

Annotated Bibliography on Immigrant and Refugee Issues Relevant to Intimate Partner Violence

Research

Marital Rape Revisited

Counseling Services for Battered Women: A Comparison of Outcomes for Physical and Sexual Assault Survivors

Sexual Assault in Marriage: Prevalence, Consequences, and Treatment of Wife Rape

Sexual Assault During and After Separation / Divorce: An Exploratory Study

Sexual Victimization Scales

Stalking Victimization Scales

Online Resources

Stalking Resource Center

STOP Violence Against Women

[1] Mahoney, P., Williams L. Sexual assault in marriage: Prevalence, consequences, and treatment.
[2] Howard, A, et al. Counseling Services for Battered Women: A comparison of outcomes for physical and sexual assault survivors.

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