USA Rape Statistics
The following statistics were compiled by the U.S. Department of Criminal Justice, Senate Judiciary Committee reports, the National Institute of Justice, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the F.B.I.
- At least 350,000 evidence collection kits are awaiting DNA testing across the United States.
- Between 500,000 to 1,000,000 samples from convicted offenders are still to be collected and tested as required by law.
- Testing 100 rape evidence kits at approximately $500 each could immediately identify 10 rapists or more over time.
- Testing of rape kits ranges from approximately $500 to over $2000, depending on the number of samples in a particular case and where the testing is assigned. Research has shown that at least 10% of rape kits tested will immediately identify at least one rapist when compared to state and federal DNA databases.
- Every hour 16 women confront rapists.
- A woman is raped every 2 minutes.
- One in three American women will be raped in her lifetime.
- 42% of rape victims tell no one.
- Only 5% of all sexual assaults are reported to law enforcement.
- The victims do not report 58% of sexual assaults to either law enforcement or crisis centres.
- 78% of sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows.
- 42% of sexual assaults occur inside the victim's home.
- 3 out of 7 women who are sexually assaulted are assaulted by multiple assailants.
- Each rapist typically attacks between 8 and 12 women before the suspect's first arrest.
- Only 2% of all sexual assaults result in the assailant(s) being convicted and imprisoned.
- Women aged 16 to 27 are at the most significant risk of being the victims of Date Rape.
- The United States has a rape rate 13 times higher than Great Britain (UK), nearly 4 times higher than Germany, and more than 20 times higher than Japan.
- As common as they are disturbing, sexual assaults against women are rising. Sexual assaults remain the most under-reported cases in the criminal justice system.
Alarming Sexual Violence Statistics
- One of the most shocking facts about sexual assault is that only 5% of sexual assault reports filed have been proven false.
- 82% of all juvenile sexual assault victims are female.
- 90% of adult rape victims are female.
- A stranger commits 41% of sexual assaults against Native Indians.
- Adolescents aged 14‐17 were the most likely to be sexually victimized; nearly one in six (16.3%) was sexually victimized in the past year.
Facts About Male Victims of Sexual Violence
Based on sexual assault statistics, it is essential to recognize that males are also at high risk of being victims of sexual violence. This indicates that sexual abuse is not exclusive to females, and the abuse of boys is not determined by the abuser's or the victim's sexual orientation. Statistics on male rape show that most perpetrators of male sexual assault are men who choose to rape both gay or straight men because rape is an act of aggression and domination rather than sexual desire.
Despite common beliefs, girls and women can also be perpetrators of sexual violence towards males, and instances of this kind are more prevalent in society than many people realize. Male sexual assault statistics have demonstrated that most males who experience sexual assault at any age do not automatically become sexual abusers, contradicting the sweeping statement thinking of most people.
According to gun violence statistics, attackers can use various weapons, physical force, or even the threat of force to gain the upper hand. In contrast, others may use blackmail or their position of authority to threaten someone into submission, as evidenced by rape victim statistics.
Alarmingly, approximately 16% of males in juvenile prisons have been sexually abused, while over 60% have encountered the threat of sexual violence. In Florida alone, 1,477,000 men have been victims of sexual assault over the last decade, representing 20.4% of men in the state.
Furthermore, over 25% of male sexual assault victims will experience their first assault before age 10, and nearly 40% of adult males who experience sexual violence from an intimate partner are left with psychological scarring such as PTSD. In New York City, male rape victims made up 18% of all rapes in the city in 2019, a record high and 5.7% higher than the previous year.
Effects of Sexual Assault on Society.
Here are some statistics that shed light on the impact of sexual assault:
Over 80% of sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance. This includes relatives, teachers, religious leaders, and former spouses. Victims often do not report these incidents due to the emotional and obligatory pressures of their relationship with the perpetrator.
Almost 95% of child victims knew their sexual attacker. In the US in 2019, 93.98% of child victims were familiar with their attacker. The child had often spent significant time with the attacker before the assault.
The US's rate of false rape claims is well below the 10% average mark. Although false rape claims do occur, the majority of rape claims are legitimate, as revealed by sexual assault statistics. In 2019, a combined rate of 6.9% of rape claims were false.
Sexual assaults cost the US billions of dollars annually. The cost of funding and running sexual assault services, the resulting lower educational aspirations of victims, and the cost of lost earnings of traumatized victims who cannot work add up to an annual cost of over $450 billion.
69% of rape victims in the US are women aged between 12 to 34 years old. This age bracket encompasses the majority of rape victims in the US on an average year.
Transgender college students have a 5% higher rate of being raped than other students. College rape statistics show that in 2019, an average of 23% of transgender, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming (TGQN) students were in danger of being sexually assaulted, compared to 18% of non-TGQN students.
Bisexual women are more than twice as likely to be victims of rape than straight women. In 2019, 46% of bisexual women reported being a victim of sexual assault, compared to 17% of straight women. Bisexual men face similar issues, with 47% being victims of sexual violence, compared to 21% of heterosexual men.
The majority (90%) of rape victims are female. Adult female victims make up the vast majority of rape victims.
An American is sexually assaulted every 93 seconds. On average, there are approximately 325,566 victims of rape and sexual assault (age 12 or older) in the US every year.
People with disabilities are twice as likely to be victims of rape and sexual assault as those without disabilities. Both males and females with disabilities are at a higher risk of victimization than able-bodied males and females.
Girls and women between the ages of 16 and 19 are 4x more likely than girls and women in other age groups to be assaulted or raped. Sexual assault victims often experience violence while performing routine activities such as sleeping, shopping, or commuting.
One out of every six American females is a victim of attempted or completed sexual assault. This ratio has doubled in the last five years and is predicted to continue increasing. 1 in 33 American men (about 3% of the total percentage of women sexually assaulted) have also experienced attempted or completed sexual assault.