NEW DATA SHOW
RAPES DOWN, REPORTS OF RAPE UP
According to data just released
by the FBI, the number of rapes
reported to
police rose slightly in 2001. The
FBI estimates that 90,491 forcible
rapes
were reported to police in 2001,
an increase of 0.3 percent from
2000's
total.
But the data, from the FBI's annual
Uniform Crime Reports, do not
necessarily mean that the total
number of rapes has increased -
just the
number reported to law enforcement.
According to Justice Department
figures,
only about one out of three rapes
is reported.
Other data released this fall,
from the Justice Department's annual
National
Crime Victimization Survey, showed
rape and sexual assault continued
their
decade-long decline last year, falling
to 249,000 total attacks from 261,000
in 2000. NCVS, because it includes
all attacks whether or not reported
to
police, is widely considered a more
accurate survey of the total number
of
rapes and sexual assaults. (The
next issue of RAINNews will include
a full
report on 2001 stats.)
For the limited purposes of the
Uniform Crime Reports, the FBI counts
only
forcible (not statutory) rapes,
and excludes attacks against men.
UCR
defines forcible rape as "the
carnal knowledge of a female forcibly
and
against her will." According
to UCR, in 2001, there were 62.2
forcible rapes
per 100,000 females in the nation.
This is a decline of 12% from the
1997
level, and a decline of 26% over
the last 10 years.
A complete copy of the study is
available at online at
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/01cius.htm.
Excerpted from RAINNews, November/December
2002
PAST RAINN NEWS COLUMNS:
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is the nation's largest
anti-sexual assault organization. With a national perspective and broad
reach, RAINN is a trusted resource for media, policymakers and the public.
Additionally, RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at
1.800.656.HOPE. Comprised of more than 1,000 local affiliates, the hotline
has helped more than half a million victims of sexual assault since 1994.
For more information, please visit the RAINN website at www.rainn.org
