From , , Sexual Abuse and Violence 7149

Issue Links: Sexual Abuse and Violence 7149

Topics: Psychotherapy

Sexual violence and abuse is a pervasive problem, making it highly likely mental health professionals will encounter victims in their practice. Consider these statistics:

Adults

• 86% percent of rape victims are female
• Approximately one in six women experiences rape or attempted rape in her lifetime
• In a study of undergraduate women, 19% experienced attempted or completed sexual assault since entering college
• Nearly 1 in 71 men (1.4%) report experiencing rape at some time in their lives
• It is estimated that about 20 million women and almost three million men in the US have been raped
• Only about 16% of all rapes are reported to law enforcement
• Approximately 1 in 20 women and men (5.6% and 5.3%, respectively) have experienced sexual violence other than rape, such as being made to penetrate someone else, sexual coercion, unwanted sexual contact, or non-contact unwanted sexual experiences
• In one study, 4.8% of men reported they were made to penetrate someone else at some time in their lives
• 13% of women and 6% of men report experiencing sexual coercion at some time in their lives
• In 2010, 12% of rapes and sexual assaults involved a weapon
• In 2010, 25% of the female victims of rape/sexual assault were victimized by strangers

Children and Youth

• Up to 30% of children experience sexual abuse
• Approximately one out of five girls (20%) experience sexual victimization involving physical contact prior to age 18
• Approximately one out of 20 boys (5%) experience sexual victimization involving physical contact prior to age 18
• In as many as 93% of child sexual abuse cases, the child knows the person that commits the abuse
• Up to 47% of abusers are family or extended family
• Approximately 30% of cases of child sex abuse are reported to authorities
• 42.2% of female rape victims were first raped before age 18
• 29.9% of female rape victims were first raped between the ages of 11–17
• 12.3% of female rape victims and 27.8% of male rape victims were first raped when they were age 10 or younger
• A 2011 survey of high school students found that 11.8% of girls and 4.5% of boys from grades 9–12 reported that they were forced to have sexual intercourse at some time in their lives
• Approximately one in five (20%) female high school students report being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner
• Approximately 1 in 7 (13%) youth Internet users receive unwanted sexual solicitations

Perpetrators

• As many as 8% of college-age men engage in first-degree sexual assaults or rape
• Among female rape victims, perpetrators were reported to be intimate partners (51.1%), family members (12.5%), acquaintances (40.8%), and strangers (13.8%)
• Among male rape victims, perpetrators were reported to be acquaintances (52.4%) and strangers (15.1%)
• Among male victims who were made to penetrate someone else, perpetrators were reported to be intimate partners (44.8%), acquaintances (44.7%), and strangers (8.2%)

Non-Fatal Injuries and Medical Treatment

• In one report, 31.5% of women and 16.1% of men were physically injured as a result of rape; 36.2% of injured female victims received medical treatment
• For both women and men, links have been found between a history of nonconsensual sex and high cholesterol, stroke and heart disease; female victims of nonconsensual sex are more likely to report heart attack and heart disease compared to non-victims
• Rape results in about 32,000 pregnancies each year
• Among female victims of intimate partner violence who filed a protective order, 68% reported they were raped by their intimate partner and 20% reported a rape-related pregnancy