statistics - about sexual violence - pennsylvania coalition against rape

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about sexual violence
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Sexual Assault Awareness Month
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Despite the significant milestones attained in the anti-violence movement over the past several decades, sexual violence continues to permeate our communities with alarming frequency. Statistics show:

1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually assaulted by age 18 (Finkelhor, et al., 1990)
On average, from 1992-2000, only 31% of all rapes and sexual victimizations were reported to the police(Hart, Timothy and Rennison, 2000)
Probability that an arrest will be made when a rape is reported: 1:2. (50.8%) (National Center for Policy Analysis, 1999)
The overall probability that a rapist will be sent to prison for his crime: 16.3%. The average sentence: 128 days. (National Center for Policy Analysis, 1999)
7 in 10 rape and sexual assault victims know their attacker prior to the assault. (Rennison, 2000)
Chances that a woman will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after being raped are between 50% and 95%. (Population Information Program, 1999)
One study estimated that, in one 12 month period, 302,091 adult American women and 92,748 adult American men experience a completed or attempted rape. Because some persons suffer multiple rapes, it is estimated that 876,064 rapes of adult American women and 111,298 rapes of adult American men occur annually. (Tjaden and Thoennes, 1998)
Of female Americans who are raped, 54% experience their first rape before age 18. (Ibid)
The cost of crime to victims is an estimated $450 billion per year. Rape is the most costly to its victims, totaling $127 billion annually. (Miller, et al., 1996)
Women with a childhood history of sexual abuse are 4.7 times more likely to be subsequently raped (Merrill et al. 1997)
Of surveyed college women, about 90% of rape and sexual assault victims knew their attacker prior to the assault (Fisher, 2000)
In another survey of college women, 13.3% indicated that they have been forced to have sex in a dating situation (Johnson and Sigler, 2000)
In Pennsylvania:
- During fiscal year 2002-03, sexual assault centers in PA served 37,811 persons
  - 10, 273 child victims
  - 13,481 adult victims
  - 14,057 parents, partners, etc.
- In 2002, police received 3,453 reports of forcible rape.
- Police arrested 1,432 people in 2002 for forcible rape. (Pennsylvania State Police, 2002)
Persons under 18 years of age account for 67% of all sexual assault victimizations reported to law enforcement agencies. Children under 12 years old account for 34% of those cases and children under six years account for 14% of those cases (Snyder, 2000).
1.8 million of the 22.3 million adolescents in the United States have been sexually assaulted (Kilpatrick and Saunders).
Of surveyed men who were incarcerated for rape, 40% reported their victims were children, and 80% reported their victims were under 18 years old. (Greenfeld, 1997).
Seven out of 10 offenders with child victims reported that were imprisoned for a rape or sexual assault (Greenfeld, 1996).
Child-victims of rape know their offended prior to the incident 90% of the time (Greenfeld, 1996).
Juveniles are responsible for victimizing 40% of the child sexual assault victims under six years of age (Snyder, 2000).
Women with a childhood history of sexual abuse are 4.7 times more likely to be subsequently raped (Merrill, et al, 1997).
Female adolescent abuse survivors are more likely to develop eating disorders - 18% binge and purge, while only 6% of non-abused adolescent girls do so - and are more likely to use illegal drugs - 30% compared to 13% of teenage girls who were never sexually abused (The Commonwealth Fund, 1997).
Girls who were raped are about three times more likely to suffer from psychiatric disorders and over four times more likely to suffer from drug and alcohol abuse in adulthood (Kendler, et al., 2000).
Pennsylvania Statistics
- 1,471 juvenile (under the age of 18) females and 174 juvenile males reported forcible rape victimizations in 2002. Of these victims, 251 females and 72 males were ten years old or younger.
- Including all types of sex offenses and forcible rapes reported in Pennsylvania during 2002, there were:
  - 9,700 female victims (1, 539 were ten years old or younger)
  - 1,895 male victims (744 were ten years old or younger) (Pennsylvania State Police, 2002)
- Offender relationships to their child victims in substantiated reports of sexual abuse (Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare):
  - 27.3% parent (father/mother)
  - 16% babysitter
  - 13.4% household member
  - 10.9% sibling
Teens 16 to 19 years of age were three and a half times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault (Rennison, 2000).
69% of teen sexual assaults reported to law enforcement occurred in the residence of the victim, the offender, or another individual (Snyder, 2000).
In one year over 4,000 incidents of rape or other types of sexual assault occurred in public schools across the country (U.S. Department of Education, 1997).
Nearly 24% of sexually active girls younger than 13 years old reported that their first intercourse was non-consensual (Abma, et al., 1998).
A study of 15-17 year old teenage mothers found that in 40% of the cases, the father of babies born to 15 year olds were 5 or more years older (Lindberg, 1997).
Female students who have been physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner in the 9th through 12th grades are at increased risk for substance us, unhealthy weight control, risky sexual behavior, pregnancy and suicide (Silverman, et al., 2001).
23% of all sexual offenders are under the age of 18 (Snyder, 2000).

(Note: Statistics quoted from the Pennsylvania State Police come from the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System (PAUCRS), the system used to make federally required reports. UCR reporting in Pennsylvania is based upon the FBI’s definition of rape and does not include the rape of males, rape committed against the victim's will but without force, statutory rape, etc. Please note that the PSP follows the Pennsylvania Crimes Codes and other statutory requirements when filing criminal charges against accused persons.)

Abma, Joyce, Anne Driscoll, and Kristin Moore. "Young Women's Degree of Control over First Intercourse: An Exploratory Analysis," Family Planning Perspectives. Volume 30, No. 1, January/February 1998.

Ahlmeyer, S.K. English, and D. Simons. "The Impact of Polygraphy on Admissions of Crossover Offending Behavior in Sexual Offenders." Presentation at the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers 18th Annual Research and Treatment Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 1999.

"Annual Report on Child Abuse." Department of Public Welfare. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2001.

"Attitude and Behavior Assessment Among Wisconsin High School Students." Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault Media Campaign. November 2000.

"The Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls." The Commonwealth Fund, 1997.

Finkelhor, David, et al. "Sexual Abuse in a National Survey of Adult Men and Women: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Risk Factors." 1990.

Fisher, Bonnie S., Francis T. Cullen, and Michael G. Turner. "The Sexual Victimization of College Women." Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 2000.

Greenfeld, Lawrence A. "Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims." Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996.

Greenfeld, Lawrence A. "Sex Offenses and Offenders." Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1997.

Hanson, R. Karl and Monique T. Bussiere. Department of the Solicitor General of Canada. "Predicting Relapse: A Meta-analysis of Sexual Offender Recidivism." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 66, No. 2, 1998.

Hart, Timothy and Rennison, Callie." Reporting Crime to the Police, 1992-2000." Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, March 2003.

Johnson, I and R. Sigler. "Forced Sexual Intercourse Among Intimates," 2000.

Kendler, Kenneth S., et al. Archives of General Psychiatry. Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth University, 2000.

Kilpatrick, D., et al. "Childhood Sexual Abuse and Adult Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders in Women." Archives of General Psychiatry. October 2000.

Kilpatrick, D. et al. "Risk Factors for Adolescent Substance Abuse and Dependence: Data from National Sample." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(1):1-12, 2000.

Kilpatrick, D.G. and B.E. Saunders "The Prevalence and Consequences of Child Victimization: Summary of a Research Study by Dean Kilpatrick, Ph.D. and Benjamin Saunders, Ph.D." National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, 1997.

Lindberg, Laura, et al. "Age Differences between Minors Who Give Birth and Their Adult Partners." Family Planning Perspectives, 29(2):March/April 1997.

Merrill, L.L., et al. "Childhood Abuse and Sexual Revictimization in a Female Navy Recruit Sample." Naval Health Research Center, 1997.

Miller, Ted, et al. "Victims' Costs and Consequences: A New Look." National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996.

National Center for Policy Analysis. "Crime and Punishment in America: 1999. NCPA Report 229, October 1999."

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR). Annual Service Statistical Report, 2001-02.

Pennsylvania State Police (2002).

"Population Reports: Ending Violence Against Women." Population Information Program, Center for Communications Programs, John Hopkins School of Public Health and Center for Healthcare Equity, 2000.

Population Information Program. "Population Reports: Ending Violence Against Women." The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, December 1999.

Prentky, R. et al. "Child Molestation: Research Issues." National Institute of Justice, 1997.

Rennison, Callie M. "Criminal Victimization 1999: Changes 1998-00 with Trends 1993-99." Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, August 2000.

Sex Offenders Assessment Board, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Silverman, Jay, Anita Raj, Lorelei Mucci, and Jeanne Hathaway. "Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality." Journal of the American Medical Association. 286(5):572-579, 2001.

Snyder, Howard. "Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics." Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 2000.

Tjaden, Patricia and Nancy Thoennes. "Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women:Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey." National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, November 1998.

"Violence and Discipline Problems in U.S. Public Schools: 1996-97." U.S. Department of Education, 1997.