Listen. | Facts About Sexual Assault

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The following information is abstracted from fact sheets collected by the Alliance.

The Scope of The Problem

One woman in four will sexually assaulted during her lifetime.
683,000 adult American women are forcibly raped each year. This equals 56,916 per month; 1,871 per day; 78 per hour; and 1.3 per minute.
Only 16% of rapes are ever reported to the police.
61% of rapes occurred before the victims were eighteen years old. 29% occurred when the victims were younger than eleven.

Who Is Raped

There is no such thing as a type of person that is more likely to get raped. Women and men of all ages, religions, class, cultures, beliefs or geographic locations can become a victim.
5% of adult rape victims are male.
Sexual assault is reported by about 40% of women who are being physically assaulted by their husbands.
4% of all female soldiers said they had been the victim of a completed or attempted rape or sexual assault during their military service. 61% of female soldiers said they had been sexually harassed in the Army.
1 in 4 college women reported being victims of rape or attempted rape. 1 in 12 college men admitted to committing acts that met the legal definition of rape.
One in four adolescent girls, and one in six adolescent boys, have been sexually or physically abused or forced to have sex against their will.
5% of rape victims were male. 7% of all American men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. At least half of these men are exclusively heterosexual.
64% of all rapes and sexual assaults were committed by offenders who were previously known to the victim. Nearly 6 out of 10 rapes occur at the victim's home or the home of a friend, relative, or neighbor. about 4,000 rapes and sexual assault occur in public schools each year.

Attitudes Towards Sexual Assault

35% of college men indicated some likelihood that they would rape if they could be assured of not getting caught.
A survey of 11-14 years olds found that
- 51% of boys and 41% of girls believe that a man has a right to force a woman to kiss him if he "spent a lot of money on her."
- 32% of boys and girls say it is not improper for a man to rape a woman who has had past sexual experiences.
- 87% of boys and 79% of girls said rape is okay if a man and woman are married.
- 47% of all those surveyed said it was okay for a man to rape a woman he has been dating for more than 6 months.

The Cost of Rape

The total costs of rape are estimated to be $127 billion a year in the United States, excluding the costs of child sexual abuse -- about $508 per man, woman, or child per year. The cost for each sexual assault is $110,000.
Nearly one-third of all rape victims develop Rape-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (RR-PTSD) sometime in their lifetimes, and more than 11% suffer from RR-PTSD at the present time. There are 1.5 million adult female rape victims who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the US.
There are 32,000 rape-related pregnancies each year in the U.S.

More Information

A large collection of factsheets, frequently asked questions, and other resources for survivors and friends of survivors is available from The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault:

More information is also available from