PACE Center
Sexual Violence Data
Sexual violence statistics
From The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Summary Report (NISVS 2016/2017)
1 in 5 women experienced completed or attempted rape during her lifetime.
1 in 9 men was made to penetrate someone (completed or attempted) during his lifetime.
Reports of Sexual Violence among Female Victims by Type of Perpetrator Unwanted sexual contact Current or former intimate partner 16. 8% Family members 22.8% Person of authority 9.4 % Acquaintance 59.9 % Brief encounter 11.7% Stranger 22.4%
Reports of Sexual Violence among Male Victims by Type of Perpetrator Unwanted sexual contact Current or former intimate partner 9.2% Family member 8.3 % Person of authority 7.2 % Acquaintance. 62.4 % Brief encounter. 11.1 % Stranger 21.9 %
From NASPA® Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
Nearly 37% of students believe they could be blamed for being sexually assaulted.
One in four did not tell anyone because they thought they would be blamed or that nothing would be done.
Physical health outcomes
- 58% of female victims of sexual assault/battery sustain injury (Planty, Berzofsky, Krebs, Langton & Smiley-McDonald, 2013)
- Women who have experienced sexual violence are more likely to suffer health problems, including:
- Chronic pain, asthma, headaches, sleep issues, diabetes (NISVS 2010)
- Smoking, high cholesterol, hypertension (Cloutier, Martin & Poole, 2002)
- Sexually-transmitted infections, injection drug use, alcohol abuse (Wingood, DiClemente & Robinson, 2009)
Mental health outcomes
- Depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (Coker, Davis, Arias, Desai, Sanderson, Brandt & Smith, 2002)
- >50% of individuals raped under the influence of alcohol or drugs develop lifetime PTSD (Zinzow, Resnick, Amstadter, McCauley, Ruggiero & Kilpatrick, 2012)
- Five times as likely to suffer depression (Zinzow et al, 2012)
Campus Sexual Assault
- 1 in 5 women has been sexually assaulted while in college (The Campus Sexual Assault Study (CSA), 2007)
- Incapacitated assault- sexual assault while the victim is drunk, passed out, or under the influence of drugs- is particularly common (Kilpatrick, Resnick, Ruggiero, Conoscenti & McCauley, 2007)
- College survivors suffer higher rates of PTSD, depression, and alcohol and drug abuse (Kilpatrick, 2007)
- On average only 12% of student victims report assault to law enforcement (Kilpatrick, 2007)
Justice Response
- Sexual assault is extremely underreported
- Around 36% of rapes and/or sexual assaults are reported to law enforcement (Planty, 2013)
- The rate of male report of sexual assault is even lower (Hart & Rennsion, 2003)
- False report is extremely rare
- Only 2-10% of reported rapes are false allegations (Lisak, Gardinier, Nicksa & Cote, 2010)
- Prosecution and conviction rates are extremely low
- 2/3 of victims have their legal cases dismissed (Campbell, Wasco, Ahrens, Sefl & Barnes, 2001)
- Only 12% of reported rapes lead to an arrest (Planty, 2013)
- There is an enormous backlog of rape kit testing, hindering prosecution (Ritter, 2011; Nelson et al, 2013)
Understanding the perpetrator
Men are more likely to commit sexual violence in communities where sexual violence is not punished (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2004). It is for this reason that community members must SPEAK OUT against sexual violence. While there is no one profile that fits all offenders, researchers have found a number of risk factors for sexual violence, particularly on college campuses.
- Contributing factors to sexual violence in campus culture (Warshaw & Parrot, 1991; Sanday, 1996; Carr & Van Deusen, 2004)
- Rape myths (e.g., rape is usually committed by a stranger; rape only happens after 2 AM)
- Rigid gender role socialization (e.g., men should be more aggressive than women; women should be more passive than men)
- Negative gender-based attitudes (e.g., women are worth less than men)
- Lack of sanctions/punishment following sexual violence
- Peer tolerance (e.g., rape culture)
- All-male membership groups (e.g., fraternities; athletic teams)
- Rate of rape on college campuses (male self-report)
- College men acknowledge forced intercourse at a rate of 5-15% and sexual aggression at a rate of 15-25% (Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski, 198; Malamuth, Sockloskie, Koss and Tanaka, 1991)
- In a large sample, 8.8% of college men admitted they had committed rape or attempted rape (Ouimette & Riggs, 1998)
- Attitudes towards rape on college campuses
- In a 1981 sample confirming previous research, 21-35% of males indicated some likelihood of committing rape if they would not be caught (Malamuth, 1981)
- College male rapists tend to believe that rape can be justified under certain conditions (e.g., if dinner is paid for) (Kanin, 1985)
- The role of alcohol
- College rapists report providing alcohol to victims in order to facilitate the assault (Abbey, McAuslan & Ross, 1998)
- Alcohol is both a factor leading to and excuse for sexual aggression by college men (Abbey, Zawacki, Buck, Clinton & McAuslan, 2001)
- Perpetrators who drink prior to an assault are more likely to believe that alcohol increases their sex drive and are more likely to think a woman’s drinking signals an interest in sex (Zawacki et al, 2003)
- Alcohol is a mediating variable (e.g., it explains) high rates of rape by fraternity and athletic team members (Koss & Gaines, 1993)
Rape and Sexual Assault Laws in North Carolina
In North Carolina, sexual assault is prosecuted as first- or second-degree rape, first- or second-degree sexual offense, or sexual battery. Specific legal information is provided below.NC General Statute 14-27 delineates the following:
First degree rape:
A person is guilty of rape in the first degree if the person engages in vaginal intercourse:
- With a victim who is a child under the age of 13 years and the defendant is at least 12 years old and is at least four years older than the victim; or
- With another person by force and against the will of the other person, and:
- Employs or displays a dangerous or deadly weapon or an article which the other person reasonably believes to be a dangerous or deadly weapon; or
- Inflicts serious personal injury upon the victim or another person; or
- The person commits the offense aided and abetted by one or more other persons.
Second-degree rape
A person is guilty of rape in the second degree if the person engages in vaginal intercourse with another person:
- By force and against the will of the other person; or
- Who is mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless, and the person performing the act knows or should reasonably know the other person is mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless.
First-degree sexual offense
A person is guilty of a sexual offense in the first degree if the person engages in a sexual act:
- With a victim who is a child under the age of 13 years and the defendant is at least 12 years old and is at least four years older than the victim; or
- With another person by force and against the will of the other person, and:
- Employs or displays a dangerous or deadly weapon or an article which the other person reasonably believes to be a dangerous or deadly weapon; or
- Inflicts serious personal injury upon the victim or another person; or
- The person commits the offense aided and abetted by one or more other persons.
Second-degree sexual offense
A person is guilty of a sexual offense in the second degree if the person engages in a sexual act with another person:
- By force and against the will of the other person; or
- Who is mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless, and the person performing the act knows or should reasonably know that the other person is mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless.
Sexual battery
A person is guilty of sexual battery if the person, for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, or sexual abuse, engages in sexual contact with another person:
- By force and against the will of the other person; or
- Who is mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless, and the person performing the act knows or should reasonably know that the other person is mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless.
*14-27.8- A person may be prosecuted whether or not the victim is the person’s legal spouse at the time of the commission of the alleged rape or sexual offense.*14-27.10- The offense shall be completed upon proof of penetration. Penetration, however slight, is vaginal intercourse or anal intercourse.