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This section includes national and state statistics and trends on victims and perpetrators of sexual violence. For additional statistics and trends, see the website sections for different victim populations, campus sexual violence, sexual harassment and other forms of interpersonal violence.
National
Victims
- Every 68 seconds, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted (calculated by RAINN from Morgan & Truman, 2020).
- Females and transgender/gender nonconforming persons experience higher rates of sexual violence than males. However, male victimization also occurs with frequency.
- Over 1/2 of women and near 1/3 of men in the U.S. experience some form of contact sexual violence during their lifetime (Basile et al., 2022). As far as lifetime rates for specific forms of sexual violence for females and males: 1 in 4 women and about 1 in 26 men report completed/attempted rape victimization. About 1 in 9 men report being made to penetrate someone. One in 4 women and 1 in 9 men report sexual coercion (being worn down by someone who repeatedly asked for sex and sexual pressure due to someone using their influence). Nearly 1 in 2 women and about 1 in 4 men report unwanted sexual contact (involving touch but not sexual penetration). One in 3 women and about 1 in 9 men report being sexually harassed in a public place. (Basile et al., 2022)
- Most victims experience sexual violence for the first time during their young adult or teen years or as younger children (Basile et al., 2022). 8 of 10 victims are first raped or made to penetrate (males) prior to age 25. Almost 1 in 2 females and about 4 in 10 males are first victimized before age 18. About 1/3 of female and male victims are ages 11 to 17 when they are first victimized, and 14% of females and 8% of males are first victimized before age 11. Of female and male victims under age 18, girls aged 11 to 17 have the highest rates of victimization. (Finkelor et al., 2015).
- Persons who are lesbian, gay and bisexual are more likely to be sexually victimized than heterosexual individuals (Truman & Morgan, 2022; Cantor, 2019). Persons who are bisexual are raped or sexually assaulted at 18 times the rate of persons who are straight. Lesbian and gay persons are raped or sexually assaulted at 2 times the rate of straight persons (Truman & Morgan, 2022).
- Some ethnic/racial groups experience higher rates of sexual victimization than others (Basile et al., 2022). Non-Hispanic multiracial and American Indians/Alaskan Native women have the highest rates in the country.
- Among college students in the U.S., 13% experience nonconsensual sexual contact. Rates for females are significantly higher than for males (Cantor et al., 2019)
- Rates of sexual victimization for individuals with disabilities are significantly higher than for those without disabilities. Individuals 12 years and older with disabilities experience rape and sexual assault at rates more than 4 times higher than for persons the same age without disabilities (Harrell, 2021). College students with disabilities have higher rates of sexual victimization than those without disabilities (Cantor et al., 2019). Children with disabilities are 3 times more likely than children without disabilities to be victims of sexual abuse (Lund & Vaughn-Jensen, 2012; Smith & Harrell, 2013). Risk is even higher for persons who have certain types of disabilities and those with multiple and more severe disabilities.
- A variety of other groups face heightened risk of sexual violence. Examples include people who are homeless (NSVRC, 2020), inmates/youth in correctional facilities (Just Detention International, 2018), sex workers (PCAR, 2013) and recent immigrants to the U.S. (prior to leaving their country of origin, as they make their way to the U.S. or/and if they are held in detention upon arrival (Sexual Assault Victim Center, 2018). Risk is further escalated for persons who identify with more than one population with high victimization rates.
- The majority of rape and sexual assault victims do not report their victimization to law enforcement. Rape/sexual assault is the violent crime least likely to be reported. (Morgan & Truman, 2020) Victims with disabilities are even less likely to report (Harrell, 2021).
Perpetrators
- Perpetrators of sexual violence are often male, especially in cases of female victims (Basile et al., 2022).
- Stranger assaults do occur, but most perpetrators sexually assault someone they know – for example, an acquaintance, friend, date, intimate partner, classmate, co-worker, employee, student, neighbor or relative (Basile et al. 2022; Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2018). This is true for perpetrators of children and adults.
- Often times, perpetrators are acquaintances or current/former intimate partners. About 39% of persons aged 12 and up are raped or sexually assaulted by acquaintances, 33% by intimate partners, just under 20% by strangers and almost 3% by non-spouse relatives. (RAINN from the National Crime Victimization Surveys, 2010-2016). More than 1/2 of female rape victims are perpetrated by acquaintances and more than 1 in 3 by intimate partners. For male rape victims, more than 1/2 are perpetrated by acquaintances and 1 in 8 by intimate partners. More than 3 in 5 of male victims are made to penetrate by acquaintances, followed by more than 1 in 4 by intimate partners. (Basile et al., 2022)
- For sexual abused children, perpetrators are often parents, other relatives and unmarried partners of parents. (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2018).
- As a group, perpetrators of sexual violence vary across many identifiers (age, race/ethnicity, economic class, religion, marital status, socio-economic level, education, family ties, sexual victimization history, criminal history, etc.).
West Virginia
- 1 in 3 women and nearly 1 in 6 men in West Virginia experience some form of contact sexual violence during their lifetime (Smith et al., 2017).
- Over 1,200 sexual offenses that were recorded in 2009 by law enforcement in West Virginia (West Virginia State Police Incident-Based Reporting System or WV-IBRS). For the victims of those offenses:
- Average age of victims: 17
- Most frequently reported age of victims: 15
- Victims under 18 years of age: 65%
- Gender of majority of victims: Female (83%)
- Race of majority of the victims: White (93%)
- Relationship of victim and perpetrator: Nearly 82% of the offenses were committed by someone known to victims (47% by acquaintances, 7% by intimate partners and 28% by other family members)
- Over 2/3 of victims were not related to the perpetrator
- Victimization rates are highest for non-Hispanic white women and men (Smith et al., 2017) (The U.S. Census indicates most WV residents are of white, non-Hispanic origins.)
- 1,336 offenders were reported in 2009 to have committed sex offenses in West Virginia (WV-IBRS). For those offenders:
- 312 arrests were made
- 93% were males, while 6% were females
- The majority were white (85%), 12% black and 3% other/unknown
- The most common age was 20 and the average age was 31
- 71% were adults and 29% were juveniles
- More on the nature of the reported sex offenses (2009 WV-IBRS):
- Types of sex offenses committed: forcible fondling (about 38%), forcible rape (about 28%), sexual assault with an object (about 13%) and statutory rape (about 9%). Females aged 12 to 22 were most at risk for forcible rape
- Approximately 70% of the reported sex offenses occurred at a residence or in a home, while other locations included highways, alleys, fields or wooded areas, parking lots, garages, hotels and schools/colleges.
References
Basile, K.C., Smith, S.G., Kresnow, M., Khatiwada S. & Leemis, R.W. (2022). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2016/2017 Report on sexual violence. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2013). Female victims of sexual violence, 1994-2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.
Cantor, D., Fisher, B., Chibnall, S., Harps, S., Townsend, R., Thomas, G., Lee, H., Kranz, V., Herbison, R. & Madden, K. (2019, revised 2020). Report on the AAU campus climate survey on sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Washington, DC: Association of American Universities.
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2018.) Child maltreatment 2016: Summary of key findings. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H.A., Shatluck, A. & Hamby, S.L. (2015). Prevalence of childhood exposure to violence, crime and abuse: results from the national survey of children’s exposure to violence. JAMA Pediatr.,169(8):746-54.
Harrell, E. (2021). Crime against persons with disabilities, 2009-2019 – Statistical tables. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality.
Just Detention International. (2018). The very basics about sexual abuse in detention. Los Angeles/Washington, DC: Author.
Lund, E., & Vaughn-Jensen, J. (2012). Victimization of children with disabilities. Lancet, 380(9845), 867–869.
Morgan, R.E. & Truman, J.L. (2020). Criminal victimization, 2019. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). 2020. Sexual violence and housing infographics [web page]. Enola, PA: Author.
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR). (2013). The intersection between prostitution and sexual violence. Enola, PA: Author.
Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN). Statistics—The offenders. Original source: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2010-2016 (2017).
Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center. (2018). Three ways sexual violence impacts immigrants in the United States. Fort Collins, CO: Author.
Smith, N. & Harrell, S. (2013). Sexual abuse of children with disabilities: A national snapshot. New York, NY: Vera Institute of Justice, Center on Victimization and Safety.
Smith, S.G., Chen, J., Basile, K.C., Gilbert, L.K., Merrick, M.T., Patel, N., Walling, M. & Jain, A. (2017). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010-2012 state report. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Truman, J.L. & Morgan, R.E. (2022). Violent victimization by sexual orientation and gender identity, 2017–2020 [Statistical brief}. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
West Virginia State Police (2010). West Virginia incident-based reporting system (WV-IBRS) 2009. Kearneysville, WV: Author.