NCJ Number:
199468
Title:
By the Numbers: Sexual Violence Statistics
Date Published:
April 2001
Annotation:
This document discusses sexual assault statistics.
Abstract:
Between 1994 and 1998 the number of criminal sexual assaults reported to Illinois law enforcement fell 19 percent. Cook County accounts for almost half of all criminal sexual assaults in Illinois. In 2000, 9,574 adult, adolescent, and child survivors of sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and sexual harassment and 3,008 significant others were served by the 29 sexual assault crisis centers of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault. According to recent data, there were no significant differences in the rate of rape/sexual assault among racial groups. Persons with disabilities were at 1.5 to five times the risk of sexual abuse and assault as were members of the general population. Between one-third and two-thirds of known sexual assault victims were age 15 or younger. Over 60 percent of rape victims were sexually assaulted before the age of 18. Victims with household incomes under $7,500 were twice as likely as persons in the general population to be victims of sexual assault. Excluding rapes in institutions, about 9 percent of all rape victims were men. More than 70 percent of rape or sexual assault victims knew their attackers compared to about half of all violent crime victims. Fourteen percent of married women had been raped by their husbands. Sexual assault occurred most frequently in the victim’s home. Sixty-eight percent of sexual assaults occurred at night, between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Studies have consistently found that resistance to sexual assault is much more effective in avoiding attack than a passive response. Active resistance decreases the change of a completed rape by about 80 percent. Passive resistance, such as crying and pleading, is ineffective and may even encourage the attacker. Almost one-third of victims suffered from rape trauma syndrome. Symptoms include fear, emotional numbness, flashbacks, nightmares, obsessive thoughts, and anger, and may occur months or even years after the incident. Also discussed are incest, child sexual abuse, acquaintance rape, sexual harassment, economic costs, pornography, prostitution, and sexual offenders. 500 footnotes
Main Term(s):
Sexual assault; Sexual assault statistics
Index Term(s):
Child Sexual Abuse; Rape statistics; Sex offender profiles; Sexual assault victims; Statistics; Violent crime statistics
Sponsoring Agency:
Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) Springfield, IL 62703-1102 NCJRS Photocopy Services Rockville, MD 20849-6000
Corporate Author:
Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) United States of America
Sale Source:
NCJRS Photocopy Services Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849-6000 United States of America Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) 100 North 16th Street Springfield, IL 62703-1102 United States of America
Publisher:
http://www.icasa.org
Page Count:
100
Format:
Document
Type:
Statistics
Language:
English
Country:
United States of America
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=199468