April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). During this month, sexual violence prevention advocates promote activities to raise awareness of sexual assault and its prevention.
Sexual assault involves sexual acts that are forced upon individuals against their will. These acts can be physical (such as rape or unwanted sexual touching), verbal (such as sexually abusive or threatening speech), or psychological (such as voyeurism or exhibitionism). Anyone can be a victim of sexual assault. However, women and girls are more likely than males to experience violence of this type. Sexual assault is most often committed by someone known to the victim such as a spouse, family member, co-worker, friend or acquaintance, although it can also be committed by a stranger.
- According to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), a national survey of high school students, approximately 9% of students reported having been forced to have sexual intercourse against their will in their lifetime. Female students (11.9%) were more likely than male students (6.1%) to report having been sexually assaulted. Overall, 12.3% of Black students, 10.4% of Hispanic students, and 7.3% of White students reported forced sexual intercourse.[1]
- Based on a review of state records pertaining to child abuse and neglect, 86,830 children in the United States experienced sexual abuse in 2001.[2]
- Sexual violence can start very early in life. More than half of all rapes (54%) of women occur before age 18; 22% of these rapes occur before age 12.[3]
- The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experienced completed or attempted rape during their college years.[4]
- Women are more likely to be victims of sexual violence than men. Of the rapes and sexual assaults reported in the 2002 National Crime Victimization Survey, 87% of the victims were women and 13% were men.[5] However, these findings may be somewhat influenced by reluctance among men to report sexual violence.
- Eight out of 10 victims of sexual assault knew their perpetrators.[6]
Further information is available through the U.S. Center for Disease Control's Sexual Violence Fact Sheet and The Truth About Rape flyer.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2003. MMWR 2004;53(SS-02):1-96. Available from URL: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5302.pdf.
2. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families. Child Maltreatment 2001. Washington (DC): U.S. Government Printing Office; 2003. Available from URL: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm01/
3. Tjaden P, Thoennes N. Full report of the prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: findings from the national violence against women survey. Washington (DC): National Institute of Justice; 2000. Report NCJ 183781.
4. Fisher BS, Cullen FT, Turner MG. The sexual victimization of college women. Washington (DC): Department of Justice (US), National Institute of Justice; 2000. Publication No. NCJ 182369. Available from URL: www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/182369.pdf or www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/svcw.txt
5. Department of Justice. Criminal victimization 2002. Washington (DC): U.S. Government Printing Office; 2003. Publication No. NCJ 199994. Available from URL: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cv02.pdf.
6. Tjaden and Thoennes, Ibid. 2000.