Statistics
Rape and sexual assault impact more people than you think - maybe even someone you know.
In the United States, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men reported experiencing an attempted or completed rape at some time in their lives.1
In Massachusetts alone, 4,418 adolescents and adults are sexually assaulted each year - that’s 12 people each day and one every two hours.2
Women and young people are targeted more often, but men and boys face significant barriers to reporting.
Nine in 10 rape survivors are female.3
Females ages 16-19 are four times more likely to be the victims of sexual assault or rape than the general population.4
Attackers target people they know.
75 percent of all survivors know their attackers; 80 percent of all rapes occur in the home.5
90 percent of rape survivors on college campuses know their attackers.6
93 percent of juvenile sexual assault survivors know their attackers.7
Rapists share common characteristics and patterns.
99 percent of female and 85 percent of male survivors were raped by a male.8
While most rapists are male, most males are not rapists.
Most “undetected” rapists (those who have not been convicted or served time in jail) are repeat rapists who commit an average of six rapes each.9
Instead of using weapons, threats, or extreme physical force or violence, most undetected rapists premeditate their attacks, identify and isolate victims, and deliberately use only as much force as necessary, such as psychological weapons and alcohol.10
Rape and sexual assault are significantly underreported.
Nearly 60% of rape/sexual assault victims did not report their victimization to the police in 2006, according to National Crime Victimization Survey data. 11
Survivors need - and deserve - support.
Rape is not miscommunication. It is a crime.
95 percent of sexual assaults that were reported were determined to be substantiated with sound evidence.12
Rape costs a survivor on average $87,000 per year in lost productivity due to medical and mental health needs, loss of employment and/or housing, and costs for therapy and medical treatment.13
Most survivors report that they used protective action against an attacker, either through physical force or by asking the perpetrator to stop.14
Sources:
1Department of Justice (US); 2000. Publication No.: NCJ 181867.
2Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, September 2006 and U.S. Bureau of the Census, MA & US Population Projections, 2006
3US Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2003
4NCVS, 2000
5NIJ, 2002
6Ibid.
7Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sex Offenders and Offenders, US Department of Justice, 2000
8NIJ, Special Report, Findings from the Violence Against Women Survey, 2006
9Lisak, David, The Undetected Rapist, 2002
10NIJ, Special Report, Findings from the Violence Against Women Survey, 2006 and Lisak, David, The Undetected Rapist, 2002
11Rand, M. and Catalano, S. (2007). Crime Victimization, 2006. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice
12Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2003
13NIJ, 1998
14NIJ, 2000
