Who Are the Victims?
Gender
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Among all victims, about nine out of ten are female.
1 out of every 33 American men has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in his lifetime. About 10% of all victims are male.
Age
Age of sexual assault victims:
15% are under age 12.
29% are age 12-17
44% are under age 18
80% are under age 30
Ages 12-34 are the highest risk years
Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of sexual assault.
Race
Estimated persons raped in lifetime by gender and race:
Women
17.7% of white women
18.8% of African-American women
6.8% of Asian / Pacific Islander women
34.1% of American Indian / Alaskan Native women
24.4% mixed race women
14.6% of Hispanic women
Men
2.8% of white men
3.3% of African-American men
4.4% of mixed race men
The sample size was too small to estimate for Asian/ Pacific Islander and American Indian / Alaskan Native men
Effects of Rape
Physical Injuries
100% of completed rapes, 39% of attempted rapes, and 17% sexual assaults against females result in injured victims.
33% of victims sustain minor (bruises and chipped teeth) physical injuries
5% of victims sustain major (broken bones and gunshot wounds) injuries
61% of victims sustain undetermined injuries
Only around 36% of injured victims receive medical care.
82% of those cared for use hospital services
55% use physician services
17% use dental services
19% use ambulatory / paramedic services
17% use physical therapy services
Mental Health
Victims of sexual assault are:
3 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.
Economic
About 1 in 11 sexual assault victims reported that they suffered some economic loss as a consequence of the crime.
The average economic loss (in 1997) was about $200
Nearly 7% of victims reported losing time from work.
An average 233,986 Americans age 12 and older are sexually assaulted each year.
Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted.
Learn more about where these statistics come from.