 | In one-third of all sexual assaults reported to law enforcement, the victim was younger than age 12 |
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| In one-third of all sexual assaults reported to law enforcement, the victim was younger than age 12 |
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Incident-based data provide information on crimes against persons under age 12 Because the National Crime Victimization Survey does not interview persons below the age of 12, little is known about crimes against these young juveniles. In recent years, however, a new information resource has developed that can shed light on this little-known portion of the crime problem. The FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) collects detailed data on crimes reported to law enforcement, including the demographic characteristics of victims and offenders, the relationships of victims to their offenders, and the location of the crimes. NIBRS data for 1991 through 1996 included data from 12 States: Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Vermont. While relatively few law enforcement agencies report NIBRS data, the data reported for 1991 through 1996 contain information on more than 1.1 million incidents of violence.
 1 in 18 victims of a violent crime known to police is under age 12 NIBRS data indicate that between 1991 and 1996, young juveniles (persons under the age of 12) were the victim in 5.5% of all violent crime incidents reported to a law enforcement agency. Young juvenile victims were more common in some types of crimes than others: kidnaping (21%), sexual assault (32%), robbery (2%), aggravated assault (4%), and simple assault (4%). More than one-third (37%) of these young victims were younger than age 7. About half (47%) of these young victims were female.
 1 in 3 victims of sexual assault is under age 12
Crime locations also differed by victim age. For adult victims, 57% of sexual assaults occurred in a residence or home, compared with 71% of the sexual assaults against older juveniles and 84% of the sexual assaults of children under age 12.
 The relationship of victim to offender also differed by victim age. In sexual assaults of adults, the offender was a stranger in 25% of incidents, a family member in 12%, and an acquaintance in 63%. In contrast, for victims under age 12, the offender was a family member in 47% of incidents, an acquaintance in 49%, and a stranger in just 4%.
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The NIBRS data are an important source of information on the sexual assaults of young children, a crime that is hard to assess through victim surveys. These data point to large differences between the younger and older victims of sexual assault. For example, while just 4% of adult sexual assault victims were male, as were 8% of victims ages 12 to 17, 26% of sexual assault victims under age 12 were male. Younger sexual assault victims were also far more likely to have juvenile offenders.