teen health website

The basic definition of rape is the force of sexual intercourse upon anyone. It may be psychological coercion or physical force. There must be penetration in order for someone to claim rape, at least that is the definition used by the United States. Many people when they hear the term rape they think of someone attacking them in the night from the bushes or someone climbing through the bedroom window. What people don’t know is that rape can also be committed by someone who is very close to you. In fact, in most rape cases, the victim knew the attacker. It may be a father, husband, boyfriend, friend, or co-worker.

People go for years without reporting that they have been raped. They have many reasons why they don’t say anything. Some are afraid that they might be attacked again or would be thought of as untruthful. Others don’t want to start any trouble and some just don’t want to relive it. In 2001, only 39% of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement officials – about one in every three.¹ It has been shown in many recent studies that every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. In 2001, there were 249,000 victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. Of these 249,000, 102,000 were victims of sexual assault, 63,000 were victims of attempted rape, and 84,000 were victims of completed rape.² These figures do not, however, include victims who are 12 years and younger. Thought there is no annual survey the Justice Department has estimated that one in ever six victims is under the age of twelve.

It is thought that rape victims are only women. This is another misconception of the public.Victims of rape include women, men, children, and teens. The assailant may also be man, woman or teen. One out of every six American women has been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetimes.³ In the year 2001 nine out of every ten rape victims were women. About three percent of American men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in his lifetime. Also, about 44% of rape victims are under the age of 18. Three out of every twenty are under the age of twelve.⁴ Among people 12 or older, about 83.5% if the U.S. population are white, and 82.5% of rape victims are white; 13.3% of victims are black, compared to 12.3% of the population; and 4.2% of both victims and the population are of other races.⁵ It is shown that people of color are about 10% more likely to be raped than Caucasian people.⁶

In the event that a rape case is reported, there is a 50.8% chance that an arrest will be made. If an arrest is made, there is an 80% chance of prosecution. If there is a prosecution, there is a 58% chance of a felony conviction and if there is a felony conviction, there is a 69% chance the convict will spend time in jail. So even in the 39% of attacks that are reported to the police, there is only a 16.3% chance that the rapist will end up in jail.⁷

There have been too many rape cases that go unreported, therefore, there can’t be anything done about them. So, if you or anyone you know has been a victim of rape let someone know before it is too late.

References
1. 1999 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
2. 2000 NCVS
3. Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence against Women Survey, National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
4. Sex Offenses and Offenders. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1997
5. 2000 NCVS
6. Ibid
7. Probability statistics compiled by NCPA from U.S. Department of Justice Statistics.