Rape/Sexual Assault General Characteristics:

• According to the U.S. Department of Justice, victims of rape and sexual assault report that in nearly 3 out of 4 incidents, the offender was not a stranger. Based on police-recorded incident data, in 90% of the rapes of children younger than 12, the child knew the offender. Two-thirds of the victims 18 to 29 years old had a prior relationship with the rapist. (Greenfield, et al, 1997. Sex Offenses and Offenders: An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault. Department of Justice.)
• 91% of the victims of rape and sexual assault are female and 9% are male. Nearly 99% of the offenders they described in single-victim incidents are male.
  (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, USDOJ, 1997.)
• In 29% of rapes, the offender used a weapon. (Ibid.)
• Around the world at least 1 woman in every 3 has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Most often the abuser is a member of her own family. (Population Reports: Ending Violence Against Women, 2000. Population Information Program, Center for Communications Programs. Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Center for Healthcare Gender Equity.)
• Only 16% of rapes are ever reported to the police. (Kilpatrick et al., 1992. Rape in America: A report to the nation. National Victim Center.)

Perpetrators: