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Assaults against women
 | 87% of all sexual assault victims are female. |
| Nationally, every 2-3 minutes a woman is sexually assaulted. |
| There are more women who have suffered sexual assaults than there are
women who wear glasses. |
| Victims range in age from infants to elderly. |
| The single most effective strategy used to stop an assault is an immediate
physical and verbal response. |
Child abuse
| 1 in 3 females are sexually abused before the age of eighteen. |
| Almost half of these abuses are incest (by intrafamilial members). |
| One male in eleven experiences some form of sexual victimization
before the age of eighteen. |
| Discovery of a child's sexual abuse usually depends on an adult's actively
listening to a child, recognizing the abuse, and reporting it. |
Incest
| 1 in 6 females are incest survivors. |
| Intrafamily abuse usually occurs repeatedly over a period of months or
years before it is reported. |
| The recent trend by the media and in classrooms to "break the
silence" about incest increases the victim's likelihood of speaking up
and getting the help they need. |
Assailants
| 97% of all sexual assault offenders are male. |
| 85% of all sexual assaults are committed by a family member, friend, or
acquaintance of the victim. |
| In over one-third of all sexual assaults the assailant attacks the victim
in the victim's home. |
Motive
| Assailants are motivated by the wish to humiliate their victims, not for a
wish of sexual gratification. |
| 70% of all sexual assaults are planned. |
Race
| In 90% of cases, victim and assailant are of the same race. |
Reporting
| All studies indicate that most sexual assaults are not reported. |
| Most of the assaults that are reported are the one-time incidents. |
| It is common for the victim to report hours or weeks after the assault,
especially if the victim is a juvenile, or knew the assailant previously. |
| False reports of sexual assaults are found to be 2-4%, the same rate as
other reported crimes. |
Reactions
| Sexual assault victims are usually in a state of shock after a sexual
assault. They are unsure about what to do and whom to tell. This
reaction may last several hours or several days. |
| Fear, shame, anger, loss of trust, detached calm, and depression are
common reactions but vary with each sexual assault survivor. These may
be more lasting than the initial stage of shock. The impact of a
sexual assault is often felt strongly for a year or more and is never
forgotten. In time, the survivor may be able to put the experience
into a different perspective. The impact varies with the individual
and varies over time. The support of those around her/him is very
important to the victim's recovery. |
prepared by Rape Crisis Center-May 1986
147 S. Butler St. Madison
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