U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Selected Findings Rape and Sexual Assault: Reporting to Police and Medical Attention, 1992-2000 August 2002, NCJ 194530 --------------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet (.wk1) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/rsarp00.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- By Callie Marie Rennison, Ph.D. BJS Statistician -------------------------------------------------- Highlights Among injured female victims of rape or sexual assault, half of those indicating that the crime was reported to the police received medical treatment, compared to a fifth of those indicating the crimes were unreported * All rapes, 39% of attempted rapes, and 17% of sexual assaults against females resulted in injured victims, 1992-2000. * Most injured rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault victims did not receive treatment for their injuries. * Most rapes and sexual assaults against females were not reported to the police. Thirty-six percent of rapes, 34% of attempted rapes, and 26% of sexual assaults were reported to police, 1992-2000. * When a rape or sexual assault was reported to the police, the victim was the most likely to report it. * 59% of the victims of completed rape whose victimizations were reported to the police were treated for their injuries, compared to 17% of rape victims with unreported victimizations. * 45% of injured female victims of a reported attempted rape compared to 22% of injured victims of an unreported attempted rape received medical treatment, 1992-2000. * Of all injured sexual assault victims, 37% of victims in which the violence was reported and 18% of victims in which the violence was unreported received medical treatment, 1992-2000. ------------------------------------------------ Persons age 12 or older experienced an average annual 140,990 completed rapes, 109,230 attempted rapes, and 152,680 completed and attempted sexual assaults between 1992 and 2000, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Most rapes and sexual assaults were committed against females: Female victims accounted for 94% of all completed rapes, 91% of all attempted rapes, and 89% of all completed and attempted sexual assaults, 1992-2000. Because of the small number of sample cases of rape and sexual assault against males, analysis in the remainder of this report relates to female victims only. Data are aggregated across 9 years to produce average annual estimates. Injuries All victims of completed rape are considered to have been injured, by NCVS definition. Thirty-eight percent of female rape victims sustained an injury in addition to the rape. Thirty-nine percent of attempted rape victims and 17% of sexual assault victims were injured during their victimization, 1992-2000. Nonfatal injuries from any crime range from bruises and chipped teeth (minor) to broken bones and gunshot wounds (serious). (See Injuries from Violent Crime, 1992-98, NCJ 168633.) Among completed rape victims, 33% had additional minor injuries, and 5% suffered additional serious injuries. Two-thirds of attempted rape victims suffered minor injuries. Three percent of injured victims were seriously injured during an attempted rape. Fifty-four percent of injured sexual assault victims reported receiving minor injuries, and 5% were seriously injured. Reporting to police Most rapes and sexual assaults were not reported to the police. Sixty-three percent of completed rapes, 65% of attempted rapes, and 74% of completed and attempted sexual assaults against females were not reported to the police. (See box, page 3, for the most common reasons for not reporting.) When the police were notified about a rape or sexual assault, the victim most often made the report. Treatment of injuries Most injured rape and sexual assault victims were not treated for their injuries. Treatment for injuries range from receiving care at the scene or in the victim's home to being admitted to a hospital. Thirty-two percent of completed rape victims, 32% of injured attempted rape victims, and 27% of injured sexual assault victims were treated. Forty-eight percent of female rape victims who received treatment for their injuries were treated at, but not admitted to, a hospital. An additional 24% of treated rape victims were cared for at home or at the scene, and 20% were treated at a doctor's office or clinic. Injured victims of attempted rape were equally likely to be treated at the scene/ home or at a hospital. Of injured female attempted rape victims, 44% were treated, but not admitted to the hospital, and 39% were treated at the scene or at home. Injured victims of completed and attempted sexual assault received treatment at the scene or at home (20%), at a doctor's office or clinic (31%), or at the hospital (24%) at statistically similar percentages. Reporting violence to the police and treatment of injuries sustained Between 1992 and 2000, an annual average of 131,950 completed rapes were committed against females age 12 or older in the United States. By definition all 131,950 victimizations resulted in an injured victim. Though all victims were injured, 36% (or 47,960) of these victimizations were reported to the police. A greater percentage of reported victimizations, compared to nonreported victimizations, involved medical treatment of the victims. Fifty-nine percent of victims of a reported completed rape, compared to 17% of victims of an unreported completed rape, received medical attention. U.S. females age 12 or older were victims of an estimated 98,970 attempted rapes, annually. Thirty-nine percent of attempted rape victims were injured. Among injured victims, 42% stated the violence was reported to police. Among injured victims, a higher percentage of reported attempted rapes (45%), compared to unreported attempted rapes (22%), received medical treatment. -------------------------------------------- Reasons for not reporting to law enforcement authorities When victims of rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault did not report the crime to the police, the most often cited reason was that the victimization was a personal matter: 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 victim-offender relationship and informing the police The closer the relationship between the female victim and the offender, the greater the likelihood that the police would not be told about the rape or sexual assault. When the offender was a current or former husband or boyfriend, about three-fourths of all victimizations were not reported to police (77% of completed rapes, 77% of attempted rapes, and 75% of sexual assaults not reported). When the offender was a friend or acquaintance, 61% of completed rapes, 71% of attempted rapes, and 82% of sexual assaults were not reported. When the offender was a stranger, 54% of completed rapes, 44% of attempted rapes, and 34% of sexual assaults were not reported to the police. ----------------------------------------------- Seventeen percent (or 23,020) of the 135,550 completed or attempted sexual assaults annually against females age 12 or older resulted in an injury. Most sexual assault victims were not injured (83%). Most uninjured sexual assault victims stated that the violence went unreported to the police (77%). Of those victims injured during a sexual assault, 41% of the violence was reported to police, and 57% went unreported. Among injured sexual assault victims, a higher percentage of those whose assault was reported (37%), compared to victims of unreported crimes (18%), received treatment. ------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Lawrence A. Greenfeld is director. Callie Marie Rennison wrote this Selected Findings under the supervision of Michael Rand. Cathy Maston provided statistical review. Tom Hester produced and edited the report. Jayne Robinson prepared the report for final publication. August 2002, NCJ 194530 --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- This report and additional data, analyses, and graphs about criminal victimization in the United States are available on the Internet at Http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ For questions or comments about this or any BJS report, email to ASKBJS@ojp.usdoj.gov. Data presented in this report can be obtained from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at the University of Michigan, 1-800-999-0960. The archive can also be accessed through the BJS Web site. When at the archive site, search for dataset ICPSR 3140. ---------------------------------------------- End of file 08/12/02 ih