Part of the national organization

 

Statistics About Violence Against Women

College Campus Statistics

* Every 21 hours on each college campus in the U.S. there is a rape. (Campus Outreach Services)

* From 1993-1998, women ages 16 to 24 experienced the highest per capita rates of intimate violence (19.6 per 1,000 women). (“Intimate Partner Violence,” Bureau of Justice Statistics, May 2000)

* A woman is most likely to experience an assault during her first two months of college. (Campus Outreach Services)

* Nearly 3% of college women experienced a completed or attempted rape during the college year. (“The Sexual Victimization of College Women,” National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics, January 26, 2001)

* For completed and attempted rapes, nearly 90% of the victims knew the offender, who was usually a classmate, friend, ex-boyfriend or acquaintance. (“The Sexual Victimization of College Women,” National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics, January 26, 2001)

As reported in “I Never Called It Rape,” Robin Warshaw, New York: Harper and Row, 1998 (with citations to the original studies):

* In a 1988 study, 9% of college women reported having had sexual intercourse that was the result of physical force or the threats of physical force. 6% experienced oral or anal penetration under the same circumstances.

* In a 1988 study, 42% of college student rape victims told no one about their assaults.

* In a 1988 study, 30% of college female rape victims contemplated suicide after the incident. 31% had some form of counseling. 22% took self-defense courses.

* In a 1988 study, 84% of college men identified as having committed rape said what they did was definitely not rape.

United States - National Statistics

* 1 in 6 women in the United States has experienced an attempted or completed sexual assault. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

* Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds. (United Nations Study on the Status of Women, 2000)

* Somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 90 seconds. (US Department of Justice, 2000)

* 1 in 3 murdered females are killed by a partner, versus 3.6% of males. (US Department of Justice, May 2000)

* Approximately 1 million women are stalked annually in the United States. (US Department of Justice, November 1998)

* According to the Justice Department, 1 in 2 rape victims is under 18; 1 in 6 is under 12. (Child rape victims, 1992)

* Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes. (Family Violence Interventions for the Justice System, 1993)

* Of the 1,977 high school girls aged 14-18 surveyed in 1997 study, about 20% reported that they had been hit, slapped, shoved or forced into sexual activity by a dating partner. (Journal of The American Medical Association, 1999)

* Domestic violence often does not consist of a single incident; it is instead a continual state of victimization. (“Domestic and Sexual Violence Data Collection,” National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics joint report, July 1996)

* In 47% of rapes, the victim susstained injuries other than rape injuries. (“Violence Against Women,” Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1994)

* Battering is the leading cause of injury to women aged 15 to 44 in the United States. (US Surgeon General, 1992)

* Approximately 50% of the homeless women and children in the United States are on the streets because of violence in their homes. (“A Report on the 1988 National Survey of Shelters for the Homeless,” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1989)

* Domestic violence occurs in approximately 25-33% of same-sex relationships. (NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, October 1996)

* Pregnant or recently pregnant women are more likely to be the victims of homicide than to die of any other cause. (Journal of the American Medical Association, March 2001)