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Sexual assault statistics continue to indicate the widespread problem of rape and sexually traumatizing assaults. Anyone can be the victim of sexual assault, though sexual assault statistics often focus more on women than men. In legal terms, sexual assault includes any forced sexual contact that can range from unwanted touching to sexual penetration, and it is a crime on all levels. Physical force does not always accompany sexual assault since coercion by authority, fear, or threat can factor in.
Reported sexual assault statistics give a small insight into how problematic assault is in the United States, but only 16 percent of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police, according to the 1992 study “Rape in America: a Report to the Nation.” Using this figure, it means that of the 97,460 reported 1995 sexual assault statistics of rape, at a 16 percent reporting rate, in actuality 649,733 rapes occurred in the U.S. An FBI Uniform Crime Report in 1990 found reported sexual assault statistics to be just one tenth the number of rapes that actually occur, estimating up to 10 times more go unreported, and even higher for acquaintance sexual assaults.
Though some people question sexual assault statistics for including false reports of rape, there is approximately just a two to three percent rate of false rape reports, which is consistent with other crimes. In eight percent of reports, investigators or prosecutors deemed the case not prosecutable for some reason, which is different than a false report.
Sexual assault statistics including female college students have been the subject of various studies. In a 1988 national study involving 32 college campuses, one in four students was found to be a victim of rape or attempted rape. Some studies have suggested sexual assault statistics among college students is so high because of the role of alcohol and drugs. Many women believe reporting a sexual assault against a person if they have been drinking or were intoxicated cannot occur, but this is not right. Sexual assault is a violation, and being intoxicated does not mean the law no longer applies.
Sexual assault studies show a small percentage of people that are actually affected, but they fail to give insight on the effect a case can have on the victim. Studies have shown women that have endured sexual assault are more likely to suffer from mental conditions like anxiety, somatic, depressive, and substance abuse disorders than women that have not. In addition, these sexual assault victims are more likely to suffer suicidal attempts, experience sexual dysfunction, and general health problems.
Sexual assault statistics show that 17 percent of reported cases against females resulted in injured victims. The 1992 National Victim Center and Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center sexual assault statistics reported 80 percent of sexual assault survivors knew their assailant at least by sight. The impact left because of sexual assault can be physically, psychologically and emotionally damaging, and denial is particularly strong in victims who knew their assailants.
Denial of the event and efforts to move past the ordeal can lead victims to minimize the anxiety and distress they are feeling by engaging in denial, avoidance, and numbing that can eventually lead to a life of isolation because of the impact the sexual assault has on relationships and on life itself. It is likely that the reported and unreported sexual assault statistics include someone you know.
Understanding how to help victims is crucial for a healthy recovery and in order to minimize long-term effects that sexual assault statistics do not even begin to reveal but that leave lives devastated.
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