Nearly 1 In 5 Women In U.S. Survey Say They Have Been Sexually Assaulted

In a new survey of 16,000 American men and women by The Center For Disease Control, 1 in 5 women say they have been raped and 1 in 4 said they were victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in lives. According to the New York Times, these figures are higher than earlier estimates and may indicate that more incidents go unreported than previously thought.

Here's HuffPost Crime's coverage of the new data:

WATCH: New Study Finds 1 in 5 U.S. Women Have Been Raped

Comments

[10 Little Amendments]

01:27 AM on 12/18/2011

My reservations about the statistics are based on the collection methodology. Just because law enforcement agencies don't classify certain "sex crimes" as rape doesn't mean they ignore the crimes - it may simply mean they label them more specifically.

I applaud the FBI for recognition of sodomy as a serious crime, but I think it's important to distinguish between forcible vaginal rape, forcible sodomy, etc., rather than lumping all together as generic sex crimes. The distinction is important in prosecution and punishment.

IMHO, "sex crime" laws focus too much on "sex" and not enough on "crime". Sex implies a motive of gratification, which is thought; the crime is in the ACT. Sane societies don't criminalize thought; punishment is proportional to the actual harm inflicted upon victims. More effort should be devoted to PREVENTION by education to instill moral/ethical values rather than the strictly punitive laws that are obviously failing - according to all reported statistics.

[istanbulite]

05:31 AM on 12/17/2011

Pardon me, but where is the reports data on boys and men being raped. Is it not politically correct to report that data? The only way to change this horrible social issue is to be open about all the truths and try to work together to understand how is happens and what perpetuates it over thousands of years. This is not just a phenomena about men hurting women.

[tkustkt]

04:59 PM on 12/16/2011

1 in 5 seems a bit high to me. I'm middle age man that grew up in the big city and I would interject that if any woman brought to the attention of her dad, uncle, especially boyfriend or even guy friends that she was raped or molested that the police may not have needed to be called--most of them would have beat the perpetraters to within an inch of their lives. I suspect that in the majority of cases the victim knew the perpetrator, or at least knew where to find them. Again, the number sounds a little high to me

[GOODDOC1]

08:51 PM on 12/16/2011

A lot of women are ashamed after being raped -- partially because of some in society who insist on blaming victims -- and won't tell anyone what happened. I think this number is low (based on my experience in the ER and working a few rape hotlines). Tes, date rape and aquaintence rape occurrs, just as incest does, but you can get more info from your local rape hotline. Victims can speak to them anonymously, without fear of reprisal, so they would have a good handle on this. (Please call during business hours, as they will probably have someone in the office available to answer. After hours the volunteers are busy talking to victims, and I'd hate for someone to call in and get a busy signal.)

[whoknew222]

12:49 AM on 12/17/2011

Thanks for making this point. I earlier referred to annonymity in regard to the study findings too. It is much easier to talk to someone who is nonthreatening and annonymous than it is to tell someone who you would rather not have know or fear what their reaction might be. The fact that this study was done annonymously by phone and got different results adds credence to this theory.

[10 Little Amendments]

05:49 AM on 12/17/2011

1 in 5 is high indeed, like 7 times as high as reported by the FBI and
law enforcement. Why the disparity? Law enforcement records
come from real people who actually report crimes; this study
concluded that 1.3 million women were raped in the past year alone
based upon extrapolated statistics from a telephone survey conducted
by questioning a sample of less than 16,000 people, taking them at
their word without further corroboration.

[GOODDOC1]

06:27 PM on 12/17/2011

The FBI only last week updated their definition of rape to include spousal rape, male victims, and sodomy. They only have statistics from the people who actually reported the rape to law enforcement. Less than 25% of rapes are reported, due to shame, fear of reprisal by the rapist, fear of how famililes and friends will treat them, fear of the legal system, etc. Please call your local rape hotline. You will find these statistics to be low. Did you realize that in two to one in three girls are molested before the age of 18? It's somewhat less for boys, but it's still shockingly high. We need to respect each other, and protect one another.

[belldn3]

04:50 PM on 12/16/2011

I thought they were going to say, are at their correct weight.

[psandysdad]

04:47 PM on 12/16/2011

It's all because of penises.

[xpus]

03:37 PM on 12/16/2011

Drivel. Letting women define "rape" as ever they wish can produce a lot of nonsense. Always missing is the FACT that a lot of women get carried away by their own lusts, then redefine what happened to unload all the blame onto the man.

[GOODDOC1]

09:12 PM on 12/16/2011

Sorry, but there is a legal definition of rape. The FBI recently updated theirs to acknowledge that men can be raped as well. You sound very bitter.

[xpus]

09:35 PM on 12/16/2011

This was a SURVEY, not a legal inquiry by legal authorities. It is what women reported, using their own, varying definitions of "rape", "molestation", etc. There is nothing "bitter" about my observation that women accuse men wrongly all the time, because they refuse to accept that they LIKE sex and go for it a lot. But they don't want to accept that they wanted it, so very frequently assert that they were 'seduced' or 'manipulated' or 'coerced' into something they in fact actively and voluntarily participated in. Fortunately, I am an exclusively gay man, so have not had to deal with such wrongful accusations. But many heterosexual men have been victimized by false accusations from women, and some feminists assert that pretty much every act of heterosexual sex is coerced.

[tessabe]

02:43 PM on 12/16/2011

I had been stalked more than once starting when I was 8. Several times strangers attempted to rape me but I managed to get away. In one case I had to actually drag the guy who grabbed me. I was also molested as a child. None of these were reported. When I was older I knew there was no point. The police where I lived didn't want to be bothered and tended to blame the victim. But because of that I avoided guys for a long time. I didn't trust them and was always aware of my surroundings. I'm not surprised at this finding, it certainly fits my experience.

[Awesomeanj]

01:06 PM on 12/16/2011

If you ask men if rape is acceptable most will say no, but ask them if sex with a woman is OK even when she does not consent and you will be absolutely surprised how many men will say it is OK.

[GOODDOC1]

09:13 PM on 12/16/2011

Unfortunately you're right.

[ohiopositive]

11:49 AM on 12/16/2011

As the father of a 14 year old who was sexually assaulted this past summer (not raped) I queried several female friends and most had been aggressively groped at a minimum and several raped in their lives. I tend to think based on that sampling that it may be higher than 20%. This is an awful trend. Objectifying women is something that I believe is on the uptake due to the high incidence of sexuallity on TV, rap and other music, and on the internet

[darlenebonny]

11:25 AM on 12/16/2011

Like gosh, is this something new? If you know anything about history, you would know that males have been mean to us gals for a every long time. A lot of rapes are not reported and a lot of them are swept under the rug. It's a big problem in our colleges, date rape. And as always it's the females fault. Low and be hold we have a group of men who like little boys too. It be nice if you men could find some way to work your problems out and leave us women and children out of it.

[lofttypeofaview]

10:05 AM on 12/16/2011

While it is true that every gender can be a victim or a perpetrator, most commonly the perpetrator is male. That being said, males have three weaknesses. 1st there sexual organs are more venerable to physical harm since they are on the outside of their body. If possible garb and pull and bend. 2nd they are easily disgusted. While are genital areas are an amusement park, they are also a waste factory. If you can go 1 and 2. 3rd. a male who respects no other female, often at least respects their mother and therefore can be easily shamed. Say things like "What would your mother think of you right now if she knew what you are doing?" Many rape victims are also murdered, it is important to try to harm your assailant physically. Also never allow them to take you to another location because you have the least possibility of escape. If in public don't scream help, scream fire! Most people will not put their own lives in jeopardy to help. If you scream fire, they will flee buildings in fear of their own safety which will draw too much attention to the assailant.

[DA5050]

09:29 AM on 12/16/2011

I can't imagine the feeling of helplessness a rape victim must experience,or the feeling of helplessness a raper must experience to commit such an act..very sad..both need to get stronger.

[aisdboss]

09:25 AM on 12/16/2011

Yes, it goes unreported, it also goes unprosecuted. I was raped when I was 15, by a stranger: abducted, beaten and raped, and it was never prosecuted. Their reasoning, I didn't show enough interest in the prosecution. I WAS 15! I thought it was the adults in my life that were supposed to help with that! Until the message in the media is changed, and we begin to treat all people with respect this will always be a problem. My message to women is stay strong, fight for your rights, and if you don't feel you are strong enough, then simply reach out to someone who is. You can be amazed where your strength will come from.

[doclagos]

08:51 AM on 12/16/2011

Another INDICATOR about the "real America"! No wonder America is the "illicit" drug capital of the world. Have no fear, they will find a way to blame the victim!

[ezwilso]

08:48 AM on 12/16/2011

Yea right, and un-employment is down too.....buncha idiots