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.

Occurrence of Sexual Assaults

  • The number of rapes reported is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, with a slight increase in August (around 9%) and the fewest in December (around 7%).

  • Time of day sexual assaults occur:

    • 43% between 6:00pm and midnight.

    • 33% between 6:00am and 6:00pm

    • 24% between midnight and 6:00am

  • Nearly 6 out of 10 sexual assault incidents were reported by victims to have occurred in their own home or at the home of a friend, relative, or neighbor.

Reporting to Police

  • There were 90,427 forcible rapes reported to police in 2007.

  • Sexual assault is one of the most under-reported crimes, with an average of 39% being reported to the police each year.

  • When victims of rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault did not report the crime to the police, the most often cited reasons were:

    • Rape:

      • personal matter (23.3%)

      • fear of reprisal (16.3%)

      • police biased (5.8%)

    • Attempted rape:

      • personal matter (16.8%);

      • fear of reprisal (11.3%);

      • protect offender (9.9%)

    • Completed and attempted sexual assault:

      • personal matter (25.3%);

      • reported to different official (12.4%);

      • fear of reprisal (11.3%)

  • The closer the relationship between the female victim and the offender, the greater the likelihood that the incident will not be reported.

    • When the offender was a current or former husband or boyfriend, about 75% of all victimization's were not reported to police.

    • When the offender was a friend or acquaintance, an average 71% were not reported.

    • When the offender was a stranger, an average 44% were not reported.

The Offenders

  • Almost 2/3 of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim.

    • 23% of rapists are an intimate

    • 3% are another relative

    • 38% are a friend or acquaintance

    • 31% are a stranger

    • 6% are unknown

  • Only about 6% of rapists ever serve a day in jail.

  • The average age of an arrested rapist is 31 years old.

    • 0.6% are 17 years old or younger

    • 54.6% are 18 to 29 years old

    • 28.6% are 30 to 39 years old

    • 8.9% are 40 to 49 years old

    • 7.3% are 50 years old or older

  • Marital status of arrested rapists.

    • 22.1% are married

    • 1.2% are widowed

    • 28.5% are divorced

    • 6.2% are separated

    • 42% are never married

  • An average 8% of sexual assaults each year involve the use of a weapon.

    • 2% use a firearm

    • 4% use a knife

    • 2% use another form of weapon

    • 6% are unsure

    • 87% of victims reported the use of physical force only

  • Convicted rapists made up 1.2% of the 272,111 state prisoners released in 1994, and 46% of these released rapists were rearrested within three years for some type of felony or serious misdemeanor.

    • 2.5% were rearrested for another rape.

  • In 1999, women accounted for 1 in 50 offenders committing a violent sex offense including rape and sexual assault.

    • Nearly 6 in 10 of these women serving time in state prisons have experienced physical or sexual abuse in the past.

  • Offenders in sexual assault murders are about 6 years younger on average than other murderers.

    • Youth under 18 have accounted for about 10% of the sexual assault murders since 1976.