• The revised National Crime Victimization Survey for 1992-1993 estimates that annually 172,400 women were victims of rape. ¹

• There were 71 forcible rapes per 100,000 females reported to United States law enforcement agencies in 1996. ²

• Data from the National Women=s Study, a longitudinal telephone survey of a national household probability sample of women at least 18 years of age, show 683,000 women forcibly raped each year and that 84% of rape victims did not report the offense to the police.³

• Using Uniform Crime Report data for 1994 and 1995, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that of rape victims who reported the offense to law enforcement, about 40% were under the age of 18, and 15% were younger than 12.⁴

• In a national survey 27.7% of college women reported a sexual experience since the age of fourteen that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape, and 7.7% of college men reported perpetrating aggressive behavior which met the legal definition of rape.⁵

Risk Factors

• The National Crime Victimization Survey indicates that for 1992-1993, 92% of rapes were committed by known assailants.¹ About half of all rapes and sexual assaults against women are committed by friends and acquaintances, and 26% are by intimate partners.¹

• Risk factors for perpetrating sexual violence include: early sexual experience (both forced and voluntary),⁶ adherence by men to sex role stereotyping,^7,8 negative attitudes of men towards women,^{6,9,10,11,12,} alcohol consumption,^8,13 acceptance of rape myths by men.^8,9,12,14,15

• Non-forceful verbal resistance and lack of resistance are associated with rape completion.^1,6

Consequences

• The adult pregnancy rate associated with rape is estimated to be 4.7%. This information, in conjunction with estimates based on the U.S. Census, suggest that there may be 32,101 annual rape-related pregnancies among American women over the age of 18.¹⁷

• Non-genital physical injuries occur in approximately 40% of completed rape cases.¹⁸ As many as 3% of all rape cases have non-genital injuries requiring overnight hospitalization.¹⁹

• Victims of rape often manifest long-term symptoms of chronic headaches,^18,20fatigue²⁰, sleep disturbance²⁰, recurrent nausea,²⁰ decreased appetite,²¹ eating disorders,²² menstrual pain,¹⁸ sexual dysfunction,²³ and suicide attempts.²¹ In a longitudinal study, sexual assault was found to increase the odds of substance abuse by a factor of 2.5.²⁴

• Estimates of the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases resulting from rape range from 3.6% to 30%.^18,22 HIV transmission risk rate from rape is estimated at 1 in 500,^22,25 although a few probable cases have been documented in Sweden and Great Britain. ^26,27

• Victims of marital or date rape are 11 times more likely to be clinically depressed, and 6 times more likely to experience social phobia than are non-victims. Psychological problems are still evident in cases as long as 15 years after the assault.²⁸

• Fatalities occur in about 0.1% of all rape cases.^29,30

• A study examining the use of health services over a five year period by female members of a health maintenance program found that the number of visits to physicians by rape victims increased 56% in the year following the crime, compared to a 2% utilization increase by non-victims.³¹

• The National Public Services Research Institute estimates the lifetime cost for each rape with physical injuries which occurred in 1987 to be $60,000.³²

Promising Primary Prevention Programs
Although few prevention initiatives in this area have been evaluated, the following programs represent strategies which have promise for rape prevention.

• A program of peer facilitated groups among men help men recognize their role in sexual assault prevention. ³³

• The STOP IT NOW Program, currently operating in Vermont, provides a number of preventive services including an anonymous help-line number which provides information to abusers before they act on thoughts of child sexual abuse. ³⁴

• A home-based program utilizing visiting nurses to instruct parents on child development and care with a focus on preventing child abuse and other forms of family violence which may act as a primary prevention for the children as they mature since early sexual experience is a risk factor for perpetration.³⁵

• The Safe Dates Program is a school-based curriculum that targets gender-role stereotyping dating violence norms, conflict management skills, help-seeking and cognitive factors associated with help-seeking. Preliminary evaluation suggests the program reduces the perpetration of dating sexual violence.³⁶

References  

1. Bachman, R. and Saltzman, L.E. Violence against women: Estimates from the redesigned survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, 1995. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, no. NCJ-154348).

2. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States: 1996. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1997.

3. Kilpatrick, D.G., Edmunds, C.N. and Seymour, A.K. Rape in America: A report to the nation. National Victim Center: 1992.

4. Greenfeld, L.A. Sex offenses and offenders: An analysis of data on rape and sexual assault: Sex offenses and offenders. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, 1997. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, report no. NCJ-163392).

5. Koss, M.P., Gidycz, K.A. and Wisniewski, N. The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1987;55(2): 162-170.

6. Koss, M.P., and Dinero, T.E. Predictors of sexual aggression among a national sample of male college students. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 1989: 528: 133-146.

7. Scott, R.L., and Tetreault, L.A. Attitudes of rapists and other violent offenders towards women. The Journal of Social Psychology, 1987: 127(4): 375-380.

8. Muehlenhard, C.L. and Linton, M.A. Date rape and sexual aggression in dating situations: Incidence and risk factors. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1987; 34(2): 186-196.

9. Gidycz, C.A., et. al. A prospective analysis of perpetrators of sexual aggression. Paper presented at the 105th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, 1997.

10. Truman, D.M., Tokar, D.M., and Fischer, A.R. Dimensions of masculinity: Relations to date rape supportive attitudes and sexual aggression in dating situations. Journal of Counseling and Development, 1996; 74: 555-562.

11. Malamuth, N.M. Predictors of naturalistic sexual aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: 1986: 953-962.

12. Koss, M.P., Leonard, K.E., Beezley, D.A., and Oros, C.J. Nonstranger sexual aggression: A discriminant analysis of the psychological characteristics of undetected offenders. Sex Roles, 1985; 12: 981-993.

13. Koss, M.P., and Gaines, J.A. The prediction of sexual aggression by alcohol use, athletic participation and fraternity affiliation. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1993 ;8(1): 94- 108.

14. Rapaport, K. and Burkhart, B.R. Personality and attitudinal characteristics of sexually coercive college males. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1984: 93: 216-221.

15. Malamuth, N.M. A multidimensional approach to sexual aggression: Combining measures of past behavior and present likelihood. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 1989: vol 528.

16. Zoucha-Jensen, J.M. and Coyne, A. The effects of resistance strategies on rape. American Journal of Public Health, 1993; 83(11): 1633-1634.

17. Homes, M.M., Resnick, H.S., Kilpatrick, D.G. and Best, C.L. Rape-related pregnancy: Estimates and descriptive characteristics from a national sample of women. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1996; 175(2): 320-324.

18. Koss, M.P. and Heslet, L. Somatic consequences of violence against women. Archives of Family Medicine, 1992 ; 1:53-59.18

19. Block, R. and Skogan, W.G. Resistance and nonfatal outcomes in stranger-to-stranger predatory crime. Violence and Victims, 1986; 1(4): 241-253.

20. Eby, K.K., Campbell, J.C., Sullivan, C.M. and Davidson, W.S. Health effects of experiences of sexual violence for women with abusive partners. Health Care for Women International, 1995; 16(6): 563-576.

21. Kilpatrick, D.G., Best, C.L., Veronen, L.J., Amick, A.E., Villeponteaux, L.A. and Ruff, G.A. Mental health correlates of criminal victimization: A random community survey. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1985; 53(6): 866-873.

22. Resnick, H.S., Acierno, R., and Kilpatrick, D.G. Health impact of interpersonal violence 2: Medical and mental health outcomes. Behavioral Medicine, 1997; 23:65-78.

23. Golding, J.M. Sexual assault history and women=s reproductive and sexual health. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 1996; 20: 101-121.

24. Kilpatrick, D.G., Acierno, R., Resnick, H.S., Saunders, B.E., and Best, C.L. A 2-year longitudinal analysis of the relationships between violent assault and substance use in women. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 1997; 65(5): 834-47.

25. Gostin, L.O., Lazzarini, Z., Alexander, D., Brandt, A.M., Mayer, K.H., and Silverman, D.C. HIV testing, counseling, and prophylaxis after sexual assault. JAMA, 1994; 27(18):136-1444.

26. Claydon, E., Murphy, S., Osborne, E.M., Kitchen, V., Smith, J.R., and Harris, J.R. Rape and HIV. International Journal of STD & AIDS. 1991; 2(3):200-201.

27. Albert, J., Wahlberg, J., Leitner, T., Escanilla, D., and Uabachnick, J.H., Henry, F., & Denny, L. Perceptions of child sexual abuse as a public health problemBVermont, Sept. 1995. Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, 46, 801-803.

35. Olds, D. Case studies of factors interfering with nurse home visitor=s promotion of positive care-giving methods in high risk families. Early Child Development and Care, 1984; 16: 149-165.

36. Foshee, V.A., Bauman, K.E., Ariaga, X.B., Helms, R.W., Kock, G.G., Linder, G.F. An evaluation of Safe Dates, an adolescent dating violence prevention program. American Journal of Public Health. In press.