Delaware County, Indiana

Sexual Assault

Sexual violence is sexual activity when consent in not obtained or not freely given. It is a serious public health problem in the United States. Sexual violence impacts every community and affects people of all genders, sexual orientations, and ages—anyone can experience or perpetrate sexual violence. The perpetrator of sexual violence is usually someone known to the victim, such as a friend, current or former intimate partner, coworker, neighbor, or family member.

Sexual violence is associated with several risk and protective factors. It is connected to other forms of violence, and causes serious health and economic consequences. By using a public health approach that addresses risk and protective factors for multiple types of violence, sexual violence and other forms of violence can be prevented.

Sexual violence affects millions of people each year in the United States. Researchers know that the numbers underestimate this significant problem as many cases go unreported. Victims may be ashamed, embarrassed, or afraid to tell the police, friends, or family about the violence. Victims may also keep quiet because they have been threatened with further harm if they tell anyone or do not think that anyone will help them.

Sexual Assault Statistics in the United States

• Sexual violence is a complex societal issue that affects one in five women and one in 71 men in their lifetime. ¹
  

• In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime. ²
  

• 1% of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance. ³
  

• 4% of male victims report being raped by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger. ⁴
  

• Almost half (49.5%) of multiracial women and over 45% of American Indian/Alaska Native women were subjected to some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime. ⁵
  

• 91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and nine percent are male.⁶
  

• In eight out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator. ⁷
  

• Eight percent of rapes occur while the victim is at work. ⁸

Prevention and Education

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Program  provides funding to fifty states, the District of Columbia, and four territory health departments. These grantees collaborate with state and territory sexual violence coalitions, local rape crisis centers, and various state and community organizations to implement statewide sexual violence prevention plans. These collaborations help to leverage resources, strengthening and enhancing prevention programming.

The RPE program was established by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and focuses on the primary prevention of sexual violence (stopping violence before it even has the chance to happen). Some of the key guiding principles include preventing perpetration, reducing risk factors and enhancing protective factors, and using the best available evidence to plan, implement, and evaluate prevention programming.

An assessment conducted in 2010 by NSVRC found that RPE funds equip prevention education program staff with greater capacities and skills to develop, deliver, and evaluate prevention programs. The assessment also found that RPE funds reduce fragmented programming and bring stability to prevention efforts across the country.

Sexual Violence is Preventable

Sexual violence impacts health in many ways and can lead to short and long-term physical and mental health problems.  

Victims may experience chronic pain, headaches, and sexually transmitted diseases. They are often fearful or anxious and may have problems trusting others. Promoting healthy and respectful relationships can help reduce sexual violence.

If you are or someone you know is a victim of sexual violence:

• Contact the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. Help is free, confidential, and available 24/7. Get information at RAINN.
• Contact your local emergency services at 9-1-1.

Prevention Resources

CDC works to prevent sexual violence before it happens.

• CDC’s technical package, STOP SV: A Technical Package to Prevent Sexual Violence CDC  
  
• Sexual Violence on Campus: Strategies for Prevention outlines five components needed for prevention efforts to have greater impact on prevention of sexual violence on college campuses.

For more online resources, visit our Sexual Violence Prevention Webpages and CDC’s VetoViolence website.  VetoViolence is CDC’s online source of free violence prevention trainings, tools, and resources.

RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE, online.rainn.org) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country.  RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.  Call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.

When you call 800.656.HOPE (4673), you’ll be routed to a local RAINN affiliate organization based on the first six digits of your phone number. Cell phone callers have the option to enter the ZIP code of their current location to more accurately locate the nearest sexual assault service provider.

Calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline gives you access to a range of free services including:

• Confidential support from a trained staff member
• Support finding a local health facility that is trained to care for survivors of sexual assault and offers services like sexual assault forensic exams
• Someone to help you talk through what happened
• Local resources that can assist with your next steps toward healing and recovery
• Referrals for long term support in your area
• Information about the laws in your community
• Basic information about medical concerns

The National Sexual Assault Hotline is a safe, confidential service. When you call the hotline, only the first six numbers of the phone number are used to route the call, and your complete phone number is never stored in our system. Most states do have laws that require local staff to contact authorities in certain situations, like if there is a child or vulnerable adult who is in danger.

While almost all callers are connected directly to a staff member or volunteer at a local sexual assault service provider, a handful of providers use an answering service after daytime business hours. This service helps manage the flow of calls. If all staff members are busy, you may choose to leave a phone number with the answering service. In this case, the number will be confidential and will be given directly to the organization’s staff member for a callback. If you reach an answering service, you can try calling back after some time has passed, or you can choose to call during regular business hours when more staff members are available. You can also access 24/7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.

 

Sexual Assault Prevention Month

The 1970s saw a significant growth for prevention and awareness of sexual violence across the country, following the general trend of social activism throughout the decade. Moving beyond awareness of the issue, the Bay Area Women Against Rape opened in 1971 as the nation’s first rape crisis center offering immediate victim services. With this heightened awareness of sexual violence, state coalitions began to form, beginning with Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape in 1975.

As early as 1976, Take Back the Night marches rallied women in organized protest against rape and sexual assault. These marches protested the violence and fear that women encountered walking the streets at night. Over time these events coordinated into a movement across the United States and Europe. Because of this movement broader activities to raise awareness of violence against women began to occur.

In the early 1980s, activists used October to raise awareness of violence against women and domestic violence awareness became the main focus. In the late 1980s, the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCASA) informally polled state sexual assault coalitions to determine the preferred date for a national Sexual Assault Awareness Week. A week in April was selected. By the late 1990s, many advocates began coordinating activities and events throughout the month of April, advancing the idea of a nationally recognized month for sexual violence awareness and prevention activities. SAAM was first observed nationally in April 2001.

Survivors, advocates, and state coalitions mobilized around the creation and implementation of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. This bill was the first national law requiring law enforcement to treat gender violence as a crime rather than a private family matter. VAWA was also designed to strengthen legal protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual violence as well as expand services to survivors and their children

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center was established in 2000 by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the Center for Disease Control. In 2001, the NSVRC coordinated the first formally recognized national Sexual Assault Awareness Month campaign, and still facilitates it today. In 2005, the campaign shifted to prevention of sexual violence and the first tool kits were sent out to coalitions and rape crisis centers across the country. Awareness for the campaign culminated in 2009 when Barack Obama was the first president to officially proclaim April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

References: 

1. Black, M. C., Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., Smith, S .G., Walters, M. L., Merrick, M. T., Stevens, M. R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 summary report. Retrieved from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf
   

2. Smith, S. G., Chen, J., Basile, K. C., Gilbert, L. K., Merrick, M. T., Patel, N., … Jain, A. (2017). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010-2012 state report. Retrieved from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/NISVS-StateReportBook.pdf
   

3. Black, M. C., Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., Smith, S .G., Walters, M. L., Merrick, M. T., Stevens, M. R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 summary report. Retrieved from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf
   

4. Black, M. C., Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., Smith, S .G., Walters, M. L., Merrick, M. T., Stevens, M. R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 summary report. Retrieved from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf
   

5. Smith, S. G., Chen, J., Basile, K. C., Gilbert, L. K., Merrick, M. T., Patel, N., … Jain, A. (2017). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010-2012 state report. Retrieved from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/NISVS-StateReportBook.pdf
   

6. Rennison, C. M. (2002). Rape and sexual assault: Reporting to police and medical attention, 1992-2000 [NCJ 194530]. Retrieved from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsarp00.pdf
   

7. Miller, T. R., Cohen, M. A., & Wiersema, B. (1996). Victim costs and consequences: A new look (NCJ 155282). Retrieved from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/victcost.pdf
   

8. Duhart, D. (2001). Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available at https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vw99.pdf