RAPE & SEXUAL
ASSAULT DOWN BY HALF SINCE '93
New Justice Dept Study Shows
Decline Continued in 2001
Defying the predictions of many
criminologists, rape and sexual
assault
continued to decline in 2001, according
to data just released by the US
Department of Justice. There were
248,000 crimes of sexual violence
in 2001,
less than half 1993's total of 485,000.
The new figures are a slight decline
from 2000's total of 261,000 attacks.
The numbers come from Justice's
National Crime Victimization Survey,
an
annual study that is widely considered
the most accurate crime measure
in
the nation. NCVS counts only crimes
against people 12 and older, so
most
child sexual abuse is not reflected
in the data. However, NCVS, which
is
based on interviews with 79,950
people, does include all crimes
against
adults and teenagers whether or
not they were reported to police.
(The FBI's
Uniform Crime Reports, the other
major crime measure, counts only
crimes
reported to police.)
According to NCVS estimates, there
were 84,000 completed rapes in 2001,
and
63,000 attempted rapes. There were
also 102,000 sexual assaults (attacks
that fell short of rape). The total
of 248,000 means that, somewhere,
in
America, someone was raped or sexually
assaulted every two minutes.
Less reliable, but also encouraging,
are data that suggest more victims
are
reporting their rape to police.
About 38% of victims reported the
crime to
police in 2001, up from an average
of just over 30% in recent years.
It will take another year or two
of data to ascertain whether this
is a
statistical anomaly or a real change
in behavior. In the past, victims
have
indicated a number of reasons for
declining to report, most notably
that
they think it is a "personal
matter," fear reprisal, or
believe police are
biased.
The victimization rate, which measures
the number of rapes and sexual
assaults per 1,000 people 12 and
older (and thus accounts for population
changes), dropped by about 56% in
the last eight years- from 2.5 to
1.1.
If there has been a relative constant
in the statistics over the last
8
years, it has been in the victim-offender
relationship. The vast majority
(between 62% and 74% ) of rapes
and sexual assaults are committed
by someone
who is known to the victim - either
an intimate, another relative or
a
friend or acquaintance. The new
NCVS shows that 2001 was no different:
66%
were committed by someone the victims
knows (48% by a friend/acquaintance;
16% by an intimate; and 2% by another
relative) while 30% were committed
by
a stranger.
A complete copy of the 2001 NCVS
and other statistics are available
at
www.rainn.org/statistics.html.
Excerpted from RAINNews, February
2003
Action Alert: Please call your members of Congress -
Congress Considers Recognizing Sexual Assault Month
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
