Unfortunately, very few women take the possibility of falling victim to crimes like rape and sexual assault seriously. As a result, little is done from the standpoint of prevention and safety. In our opinion, awareness, communication and preparation are the best ways to help women everywhere increase their personal safety situation. A start is to share the following facts from The Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response Center (STAR) http://www.brrcc.org/ Statistics An average 233,986 Americans age 12 and older are sexually assaulted each year. Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. Who Are the Victims? 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Among all victims, about nine out of ten are female. 1 out of every 33 American men has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in his lifetime. About 10% of all victims are male. Age Age of sexual assault victims:

• 15% are under age 12
• 29% are age 12-17
• 44% are under age 18
• 80% are under age 30
• Ages 12-34 are the highest risk years
• Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of sexual assault

Race Estimated persons raped in lifetime by gender and race: Women

• 17.7% of white women
• 18.8% of African-American women
• 6.8% of Asian / Pacific Islander women
• 34.1% of American Indian / Alaskan Native women
• 24.4% mixed race women
• 14.6% of Hispanic women

Men

• 2.8% of white men
• 3.3% of African-American men
• 4.4% of mixed race men
• The sample size was too small to estimate for Asian/ Pacific Islander and American Indian / Alaskan Native men

Effects of Rape Physical Injuries 100% of completed rapes, 39% of attempted rapes, and 17% sexual assaults against females result in injured victims.

• 33% of victims sustain minor (bruises and chipped teeth) physical injuries
• 5% of victims sustain major (broken bones and gunshot wounds) injuries
• 61% of victims sustain undetermined injuries

Only around 36% of injured victims receive medical care Mental Health Victims of sexual assault are:

• 3 times more likely to suffer from depression
• 6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder
• 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol
• 26 times more likely to abuse drugs
• 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide

Occurrence of Sexual Assaults The number of rapes reported is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, with a slight increase in August (around 9%) and the fewest in December (around 7%). Time of day sexual assaults occur:

• 43% between 6:00pm and midnight
• 33% between 6:00am and 6:00pm
• 24% between midnight and 6:00am

Nearly 6 out of 10 sexual assault incidents were reported by victims to have occurred in their own home or at the home of a friend, relative, or neighbor. Reporting to Police There were 90,427 forcible rapes reported to police in 2007. Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes, with an average of 39% being reported to the police each year. When victims of rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault did not report the crime to the police, the most often cited reasons were: Rape:

• personal matter (23.3%)
• fear of reprisal (16.3%)
• police biased (5.8%)

Attempted rape:

• personal matter (16.8%)
• fear of reprisal (11.3%)
• protect offender (9.9%)

Completed and attempted sexual assault:

• personal matter (25.3%)
• reported to different official (12.4%)
• fear of reprisal (11.3%)

The closer the relationship between the female victim and the offender, the greater the likelihood that the incident will not be reported. When the offender was a current or former husband or boyfriend, about 75% of all victimization's were not reported to police. When the offender was a friend or acquaintance, an average 71% were not reported. When the offender was a stranger, an average 44% were not reported. The Offenders Almost 2/3 of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim.

• 23% of rapists are an intimate
• 3% are another relative
• 38% are a friend or acquaintance
• 31% are a stranger
• 6% are unknown

Only about 6% of rapists ever serve a day in jail. The average age of an arrested rapist is 31 years old.

• 0.6% are 17 years old or younger
• 54.6% are 18 to 29 years old
• 28.6% are 30 to 39 years old
• 8.9% are 40 to 49 years old
• 7.3% are 50 years old or older

Marital status of arrested rapists.

• 22.1% are married
• 1.2% are widowed
• 28.5% are divorced
• 6.2% are separated
• 42% are never married

Convicted rapists made up 1.2% of the 272,111 state prisoners released in 1994, and 46% of these released rapists were rearrested within three years for some type of felony or serious misdemeanor. National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1.800.656.HOPE