Rape Statistics: Over 17 Percent Of High School-Age Girls In Indiana Experience Sexual Assault

According to recent national research conducted by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 10.5 percent of all high school-age girls have been sexually assaulted. And in the state of Indiana, those numbers are considerable higher than nearly anywhere else in the country. 17.3 percent of girls in grades nine through 12 in the state have reported experiencing rape or sexual assault.

Julie Heiman, director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, told the Bloomington Herald-Times that she was "shocked" by the numbers.

But these statistics may not even reflect the true scope of the issue. CBS Chicago noted that because 50 percent of sexual assaults against women are unreported, it's difficult to estimate the actual number of instances.

Indiana University Center for Evaluation & Education Policy Director Jonath Plucker told the Post-Tribune that he was not surprised that Indiana did not rank highly, but that it did come as a surprise to be among the worst states in the country in terms of sexual assault. He said:

“... That we arguably have the worst data in the country -- that hit me like a punch in the stomach. There are other more socially conservative states, more provincial states, certainly poorer states. But the data we have available to us just didn’t allow us to figure out why our figures are so bad.”

Now, researchers at Indiana University and other institutions are calling for more public education and greater prevention efforts. Plucker suggested more thorough training in dealing with issues for school staff members, as well as more community-wide sex education initiatives.

In the UK, an educational teen rape public service announcement recently debuted, highlighting incidences of sexual assault within relationships. In light of the fact that 80 percent of rape occurs between people who know each other, the ad aims to educate teens on the fact on the fact that sexual violence frequently occurs within relationships.

Patch reported that every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted in America, and noted that educational campaigns can help increase the reporting of rapes so that victims of sexual assault are not silenced. With National Sexual Assault Awareness Month happening in April, the national spotlight is being put on the issue of rape and sexual violence.

Need help? Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[PlumDumpling]

11:29 AM on 02/23/2013

1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).1

17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.1

9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003.2

[PlumDumpling]

11:28 AM on 02/23/2013

Men

About 3% of American men — or 1 in 33 — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.1

In 2003, 1 in every ten rape victims were male.2
2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.1

[PlumDumpling]

11:23 AM on 02/23/2013

Children

15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.3

29% are age 12-17.
44% are under age 18.3
80% are under age 30.3
12-34 are the highest risk years.
Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.
7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.4

3% of boys grades 5-8 and 5% of boys in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.
In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.5

Of these, 75% were girls.
Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.
93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.6

34.2% of attackers were family members.
58.7% were acquaintances.
Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.

[duckbill2000]

04:48 AM on 01/07/2013

Interesting to see the amount of effort put into debating the accuracy or validity of the 17% figure (to high, to low, kids just faking survey etc.) relative to the discussion of the real issue, which is the highly traumatic assaults on a population of young women. As with the murder of any of our children, even one such act is too many.

Naturally, this issue is complicated by its very nature; that most such acts are carried out in private, with only the perpetrator(s) and the victims. Thus, it is a he said / she said matter and quickly degenerates into a smear campaign against the credibility of the victim in the court (since the only defense is to discredit the other witness in the matter). The fear of what everyone knows will happen does prevent much reporting.

That said, the criminals carrying out such acts know what they are doing. Better education in advance of the crime may help, but it is really up to the society and the peers to prevent much of this happening.

[North Light]

02:44 PM on 03/30/2013

Well said.

[irrenmann]

08:38 AM on 04/13/2012

"But these statistics may not even reflect the true scope of the issue. CBS Chicago noted that because 50 percent of sexual assaults against women are unreported, it's difficult to estimate the actual number of instances."

If they are unreported, then isn't this a meaningless statistic? How could they possibly know how many go unreported if they go unreported? Polls about sexual assault are typically anonymous, so they cannot cross references instances mentioned in the polls with instances reported to law enforcement, right?

[susiewatusi]

10:43 PM on 04/11/2012

Maybe the reason the number is so high isn't because it happens more, but because they are better at reporting and documenting reporting. Maybe some of these other states with lower numbers just don't document the reported assaults as much or maybe the girls are just taught to believe that it is their plight in life to accept such things as normal? There are reasons that could legitimately explain the higher number.

[sj-99999]

04:40 PM on 04/11/2012

Isn't that Toth guy originally from this state? : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/eric-justin-toth-fbi-most-wanted_n_1415912.html

[Carla van der Meer]

01:17 AM on 04/11/2012

We know that rape is a crime of aggression, not necessarily one of lust, so how do we combat it? Education is obviously part of the solution, but there has to be more. I think attitudes between the sexes are a good starting point. I see young men saying truly horrible things about young women all the time ( not that they would do anything) but even their mothers rarely correct this. When you minimize and objectify someone, it is much easier to abuse them. Just a thought.

[North Light]

02:47 PM on 03/30/2013

So true. Even though I instinctively agree with you, why should it only fall on the mother to correct those statements, it is as much a responsibility of the father.

[Quang Tong]

07:49 PM on 04/10/2012

basically 2 out of 10 girls in high school, that's 14 - 18 have been sexually assaulted. Horrible...

[North Light]

02:48 PM on 03/30/2013

Indeed.

[jbeachboy32]

06:38 PM on 04/10/2012

do they even have education on this subject or discussion of laws with this?

[jbeachboy32]

02:55 PM on 04/11/2012

are the laws even that deterring?

[Crystal Macmillan]

07:20 PM on 04/10/2012

How is it deceitful? A percent is a piece of a pie, of a greater whole. The greater whole here is all females attending high school. Where statistics would fail us is in who they asked, did they really ask every female or just a large enough group, then compared against other groups to find an average. The other way it could be bungled was stated in the article, woman sometimes do not have a definition for rape in their own minds, like if a boyfriend rapes you or someone rapes you with an object, they might know and feel that what was done to them was wrong with psychological consequences but they won't identify their experience with the word rape and it's definition or connotations, or the women are too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone. The percents are most likely higher because this is a known fact about rape, discovered by psychologists, families and social workers all over the country. It doesn't even matter if anyone is having consensual sex with partners, that's after all not what they were trying to find out, it's irrelevant, we're talking about crimes against humanity which shouldn't even be put in the same sentence as natural acts of humanity.

[DrB3]

02:52 AM on 04/17/2012

Consensual acts are NOT included in assault statistics. What part of the word "assault" are you having trouble with?

[Billdabuilder]

05:05 PM on 04/10/2012

Just what is a sexual assault in Indiana?

[Carla van der Meer]

01:19 AM on 04/11/2012

What 'agenda' could be served by this, other than finding out how to ensure the safety of our daughters?

[mcomparetto]

03:52 PM on 04/10/2012

This is very disturbing. Women, especially young women, need to protect themselves since the law is rarely on their side.

[corgi44]

03:51 PM on 04/10/2012

My first comment was rejected. But I am from northern Indiana and have seen a situation associated with this subject. I'm from northern Indiana. My best friend had a daughter who had an abortion at the same time another girl had one after becoming pregnant from the same boy all from the same party. And, the third girl HAD her son. This boy (who fathered 3 white children all in one night) was placed in jail. Fifteen plus years later, I am uncertain what became of the boy. My best friend's daughter never married and never had children. I can say her Mother and Father were not religious and are strong Democrats. The daughter went on to be a striper for a few years and was heavily drugged the last time I saw her but I have been told that she NOW holds a good job in Hawaii....and dates a lot of rich fellows. Today my friend wants prostitution and drugs to be legal. She and her husband believe free birth control must be given and believes in abortions for all who wish to have them. They are proud that their daughter is today very happy with her life.

[Swimdude]

04:33 PM on 04/10/2012

So, are you saying that if these people had been religious and Republican that the Rapes would not have occurred?

[Paige Keith]

05:09 PM on 04/10/2012

I agree, I do think the poster could have left the political and race items out of the post, but the point is, this young man at the party knocked-up 3 girls in one night and it basically ruined his life and possibly the girl's also. Not sure what this has to do with the subject of rape, unless it was statutory, but maybe if that young man and those girls had better sex education, this mess wouldn't have happened in the first place.

[luziannagirl]

09:49 AM on 04/11/2012

What does this have to do with the high rate of sexual assault on girls? Were any of these girls raped?