7 Figures: Rape And Sexual Assault Among College-Age Females
Religion & Liberty Online

7 Figures: Rape And Sexual Assault Among College-Age Females

7figuresYesterday the Bureau of Justice Statistic released the report, Rape And Sexual Assault Among College-Age Females, 1995-2013. The report compares the characteristics of rape and sexual assault victimization against females ages 18 to 24 who are enrolled and not enrolled in college, and examines the relationship between the victim and offender, the involvement of a weapon, location of the victimization, reporting to police, perceived offender characteristics, and victim demographics.

Here are seven figures from the report you should know:

1. The rate of rape and sexual assault was 1.2 times higher for nonstudents (7.6 per 1,000) than for students (6.1 per 1,000).

2. For both college students and nonstudents, the offender was known to the victim in about 80 percent of rape and sexual assault victimizations.

3. Most (51%) student rape and sexual assault victimizations occurred while the victim was pursuing leisure activities away from home, compared to nonstudents who were engaged in other activities at home (50 percent) when the victimization occurred.

4. The offender had a weapon in about 1 in 10 rape and sexual assault victimizations against both students and nonstudents.

5. Rape and sexual assault victimizations of students (80 percent) were more likely than nonstudent victimizations (67 percent) to go unreported to police.

6. Among females living in rural areas, the rate of rape and sexual assault was almost 2 times higher for nonstudents (8.8 per 1,000) than students (4.6 per 1,000).

7. Fewer than 1 in 5 female student (16 percent) and nonstudent (18 percent) victims of rape and sexual assault received assistance from a victim services agency.

Other entries in this series:

Trafficking in Children on the Increase • Family Structure and Economic Success  •  Mortality in the United States • Prevalence of Violence Against Children • Hunger in America • As the Nation Ages, Seven States Become Younger • Trafficking in Persons Report • American Time Use Survey • The Shifting Religious Identity of Latinos in the U.S. • Inmate Sexual Victimization by Correctional Authorities • Tax Day Edition • Wages and Employment in America

Joe Carter

Joe Carter is a Senior Editor at the Acton Institute. Joe also serves as an editor at the The Gospel Coalition, a communications specialist for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and as an adjunct professor of journalism at Patrick Henry College. He is the editor of the NIV Lifehacks Bible and co-author of How to Argue like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from History's Greatest Communicator (Crossway).