Statistics:
- 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.
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 o
- 44% are under age 18 o 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:
- occur in 100% of completed rapes
- occur in 39% of attempted rapes
- 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.
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.
Caring House has a sexual assault advocate who wants to assist anyone who has experienced sexual assault.
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