Womenfolk Unlimited

Facts

SEXUAL VIOLENCE FACT

• In North Carolina 1 in 5 women have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives. (Martin, Sandra L. and Suzanne Cloutier (September 1999) “Sexual Assault Among North Carolina Residents: Prevalence and Associations with Sociodemographic and Health Factors-Findings from the 1997 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.” Department of Maternal & Child Health & Department of Epidemiology; UNC Chapel Hill.)
  
  
• Over 10, 000 North Carolinians were affected by sexual violence last year. (Sexual Assault Program Statewide Data: 7/01/01-6/30/02. (2002) NC Council for Women; p. 1)
  
  
• In 2001 there were a total of 40 convictions for 1st degree rape and 82 convictions for 2nd degree rape in North Carolina. (Tally of Offense Codes Used in the Criminal Index in 2001. North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts)
  
  
• In 2001, there were a total of 75 convictions for 1st degree sex offense and 78 convictions of 2nd degree sex offense in North Carolina. (Tally of Offense Codes Used in the Criminal Index in 2001. North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts)
  
  
• In the United States 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men has experienced a completed or attempted rape at sometime in their life. (Tjaden, Patricia and Thoennes, Nancy, (November 1998) Prevalence, Incident, and Consequences of Violence Against Women; Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, Office of the Justice Programs, US Department of Justice.)
  
  
• The National Violence Against Women Survey found that rape is a crime committed primarily against youth, 54% of women victims were under age 18 at the time of the first rape and 83% of women victims were under age 25. (Tjaden, Patricia and Thoennes, Nancy, (November 1998) Prevalence, Incident, and Consequences of Violence Against Women; Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, Office of the Justice Programs, US Department of Justice.)
  
  
• In the United States, there were 90,186 forcible rapes of females reported to Law Enforcement in the year 2000. (Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2001) Crime in the United States 2000 Uniform Crime Reports. Washington D.C.: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice;25-26)
  
  
• Around the world at least 1 woman in every 3 has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family. (Population Information Program. (2000) Population Reports: Ending Violence Against Women. Population Information Program, Center for Communications Programs. Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Center for Healthcare Gender Equity.)
  
  
• In a longitudinal study of 3,006 women, researchers found women who were rape victims were 7 times more likely to be raped again. (Acierno, R; Resnick, H; Kilpatrick, D; Saunders, B; Best, C, (1999) “Risk Factors for Rape, Physical Assault, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Women: Examination of Differential Multivariate Relationships.” Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 13 (6): 556.)
  
  
• Female primary care patients with a history of sexual abuse have more physical and psychiatric symptoms and lower health-related quality of life than those without previous abuse. (L. Miriam Dickinson, Frank Verloin deGruyIII, W. Perry Dickinson and Lucy M. Candib. Health-Related Quality of Life and Symptom Profiles of Female Survivors of Sexual Abuse. Journal of the American Medical Association Vol 8 No. 1 January/February 1999 www.med.unc.edu/cme/welcome.htm; last accessed 11/27/01)