Most Dangerous Cities For Women: The Top 10

In only the first four months of 2012, almost 300 rapes and four serial rapists have been reported in Detroit, and a 2011 survey found 37 percent of women in Alaska reported being the victim of sexual assault at some point in their lives.

On Thursday, Forbes released one of their most harrowing rankings of the year: the 10 most dangerous cities for women. The magazine ranked metro areas based on where women are most at risk for becoming victims of both violent crimes and sexual assaults, primarily drawing upon data from the the FBI Uniform Crime Report.

Analyzing the FBI's data on rape can be particularly difficult as they only count cases of "forcible rape," which excludes date rape, statutory rape, and sexual assault, and, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 54 percent of sexual assaults are never reported to authorities. This issue is compounded by some localized policies that require women to pay for their own rape kits, a step necessary in filing a charge against a sexual assailant.

For further information about reporting rape, visit the RAINN website or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

UPDATE: Forbes has identified discrepancies between census data and the FBI population data used to determine the rankings of Saginaw, Mich., and Fairbanks, Alaska. We will update these numbers when Forbes resolves the matter.