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.