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.