(Updates with state data starting in 10th paragraph.) 
 
 Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Almost one in five U.S. women have been sexually assaulted, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 In a 2010 survey of 16,507 adults, 18.3 percent of women and 1.4 percent of men said they had been victims of rape or attempted rape at some point in their lives, the CDC said today in the first report of its kind. 
 
 Victims of domestic violence, rape or stalking are more likely to suffer long-term health problems such as frequent headaches, chronic pain and difficulty sleeping, the CDC report said. Previous research by the health agency suggests such violence costs the U.S. more than $8 billion in medical expenses, mental-health costs and lost productivity. 
 
 "The numbers from the first year of data collection are astounding," Linda Degutis, director of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said on a conference call with reporters. The survey is the first to provide national estimates and data from all states on sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking, she said. 
 
 About 1.3 million women were sexually assaulted in the 12 months prior to the survey, according to the report. About 5.2 million women, and 1.4 million men, were stalked in that period. More than 12 million women and men said they had been the victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the previous year, Degutis said. 
 
 "Most of these victims first experienced these types of violence before they were 25 years old, often during their teenage years," she said. 
 
 Previous Report Dwarfed 
 
 The CDC figures dwarf a Department of Justice estimate that 188,380 sexual assaults occurred in the U.S. last year, a 24 percent decline from 2009. That study, released in September, surveyed 40,974 U.S. households. 
 
 "The measurement of rape or sexual assault represents one of the most serious challenges in the field of victimization research," the Justice Department said in its report. "Rape and sexual assault remain sensitive subjects that are difficult to ask about in the survey context." 
 
 Studies show most sexual assaults go unreported, in part because victims may feel ashamed, embarrassed, or afraid that police won't believe an assault occurred, according to the Justice Department's National Institute of Justice. 
 
 State Statistics 
 
 Alaska had the highest rate of sexual violence against women in the CDC survey, with 29 percent reporting that they had been raped in their lifetimes. Oregon and Nevada followed, with 27 percent and 26 percent, respectively. 
 
 Virginia had the lowest prevalence of rape, with 11 percent of women saying they had been victims of the crime. Tennessee had the second-lowest rate with 13.6 percent, followed by Delaware with 14.2 percent. 
 
 Oklahoma had the highest rate of domestic violence, and North Dakota had the lowest. About 49 percent of women surveyed in Oklahoma, and 25 percent in North Dakota, said they had been raped, assaulted or stalked by a partner in their lifetimes. 
 
 "The prevalence of sexual and intimate-partner violence is staggering," Esta Soler, president of Futures Without Violence, a San Francisco-based advocacy group, said today in an e-mail. "Given that victimization is starting younger, we need to do more to prevent violence with intervention programs for children and adolescents." 
 
 More than 42 percent of female rape victims said the crime occurred before they had reached the age of 18, and 80 percent said they were raped before the age of 25, according to the report. Almost 28 percent of male rape victims said the crime occurred when they were 10 years old or younger. 
 
 The Atlanta-based CDC developed the study, known as the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, with the Defense Department and the National Institute of Justice. The agency began collecting surveillance data last year from English- and Spanish-speaking adults living in the U.S. 
 
 The aim of the study is to help officials "stop the violence before it happens," Degutis said. 
 
 --Editor: Andrew Pollack, Bruce Rule 
 
 To contact the reporter on this story: Molly Peterson in Washington at mpeterson9@bloomberg.net 
 
 To contact the editor responsible for this story: Adriel Bettelheim at abettelheim@bloomberg.net. ||||| Nearly one in five U.S. women has been a victim of sexual assault, new federal survey finds 
 
 
 
 2009 Alexandria's Domestic Violence Intervention Project presents Silent Witness, a candlelight vigil & memorial to the 15 women who have lost their lives due to domestic violence in Alexandria, Va. Red silhouettes were displayed at City Hall bearing the name of each victim whose life was brutally cut short due to violence. Marilyn McMahon, (left) and husband, Bill Berridge, from Alexandria, read the stories of two victims, plaques on the front of the silhouettes, after the ceremony. (Richard A. Lipski ) 
 
 Nearly one-fifth of U.S. women have been the victim of a sexual assault at some time in their lives, according to new federal data released Wednesday. 
 
 In addition, one in four has been the victim of severe physical violence by a boyfriend or husband, according to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, which was conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 The survey also found that one in six has experienced a stalking that made her very fearful or believed that someone close to her would be harmed or killed. 
 
 The survey also showed that about one man in seven has experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in his life, and one in 19 has experienced a stalking at some point. 
 
 Researchers calculated that on average, 24 people are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking every minute. In a year, that translates to more than 12 million women and men. More than 1 million women reported being the victims of a rape or an attempted rape in the 12 months preceding the survey, officials said. 
 
 Of women who have been victimized, almost 70 percent experienced some kind of violence from an intimate partner before the age of 25. And about 80 percent of female rape victims were attacked before age 25. 
 
 “This report highlights the heavy toll that sexual violence, stalking and intimate-partner violence places on adults in this country,” said Linda Degutis, who heads the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 
 
 The results come from a national representative telephone survey of 16,507 U.S. adults and mark the first of what will now become an annual survey of domestic violence. 
 
 Advocacy groups said the statistics underscore the severity of the problem. 
 
 “The prevalence of sexual and intimate-partner violence is staggering,” said Esta Soler of Futures Without Violence, a San Francisco-based group. 
 
 Federal officials said there was no way to directly compare the new data with previous estimates. Scott Berkowitz of the Washington-based Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network said the lifetime estimate of one in five female victims is “very close to previous estimates.” 
 
 The estimate of 1.3 million rapes per year is “vastly higher” than other studies, Berkowitz said. For example, he noted that the Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey, which is much larger, reported about 200,000 sexual assaults per year. 
 
 “So I’d be cautious in interpreting the new data or accepting it as an accurate depiction of the extent of the crime,” Berkowitz said. “That said, CDC, DOJ and other studies all show that this is an incredibly violent crime that impacts nearly every family in America. ” 
 
 To listen to a briefing about the findings or read a transcript, click here.
– The CDC is out with numbers from a comprehensive new survey on rape and sexual assault, and the main takeaway is grim: More than 19% of women in the US, nearly one in five, have been raped at some point in their lives, reports Bloomberg. When the definition is broadened to include other forms of sexual violence, the percentage of female victims rises to 44%. The victims include those unable to give consent because they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, notes Salon. The CDC estimates more than 11 million women were raped in that manner in 2011. The report also says 2% of men have been raped, and 23% have been victims of sexual violence of some kind. In fact, New York highlights this paragraph from the CDC report itself: "Consistent with previous studies, the overall pattern of results suggest that women, in particular, are heavily impacted over their lifetime. However, the results also indicate that many men experience sexual violence, stalking, and, in particular, physical violence by an intimate partner. " For both genders, the abuse is most likely to have happened before age 25. (One man raped at age 14 has now been ordered to pay child support for the daughter he fathered.)