Sexual violence, in many forms, happens all over the world. Victims and perpetrators can come from any background, be any gender or age, and all of their experiences are equally valid. These are some of the numbers and facts that are known about sex crimes.

33%
33% of adult women have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes. (1)
25%
25% of adult men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetime. (1)
34%
34% of rape victims are between the ages of 13 and 18 years old. (2)
51%
51% of adult men who report having been sexually victimized report being under age 18 at the time of first victimization. (1)
16
16% of all suspected child abuse incidents were reported by the child’s relative, neighbor, family friend, or other non-professional. (3)
734630
734,630 or around 3 in 1000 people over age 12 reported a rape or sexual assault to law enforcement in 2018. (4)
47124
47,124 children were victims of substantiated (reported incidents where evidence was found) sexual abuse in 2018, around 1 in 1000 children. (3)
5
5 years old is the most common age of a sodomy victim, male or female. (2)
1
Fact 1
Sexual abuse can contribute to
anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, and substance abuse; all of which may be more severe than in people with similar conditions who were not exposed to trauma. (5)
2
Fact 2
In adult prisons,
4% of inmates reported sexual victimization in the past year. In juvenile facilities, 7% of youth in custody reported similar events. (6,7)
3
Fact 3
Children who experience abuse,
including sexual abuse are more likely to experience violence in adulthood too. Gender, peer groups, personality traits, and school performance are also important contributing factors to future violence. (8)
4
Fact 4
Fewer than 20%
of victims of sexual violence report seeking help from any victim services. (9)
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Note on Statistics:

Numbers around sexual violence can get complicated; you might see different numbers in different places. One reason for this is that many people do not report these incidents, and there are often no other witnesses. Another is that different groups collect different types of data.

Crimes reported to law enforcement are summarized in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) yearly report called Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) or National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Suspected cases of child abuse reported to Child Protection Services (CPS) or similar agencies are summarized in the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) yearly Child Maltreatment Report.3,10

The national data about unreported events is collected by large telephone-based surveys. Both the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conduct one yearly. Because each group asks questions differently, they usually get different numbers in their reports called the National Crime and Victimization Survey (NCVS) and National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), respectively. Both groups suspect that they miss some cases of violence because people may not want to discuss it on the phone.1,10

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References
  1. Smith, Sharon, et al. (2018). National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief Updated Release. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/2015data-brief508.pdf
  2. Sex Offenses Reported Via Nibrs in 2013. (2015). U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. https://ucr.fbi.gov/nibrs-sex-offenses-study-2013
  3. Child Maltreatment 2018. (2020). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/cm2018.pdf
  4. Morgan, R. & Oudekerk, B. (2019). Criminal Victimization, 2018. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv18.pdf
  5. Teicher, M. H., & Samson, J. A. (2013). Childhood Maltreatment and Psychopathology: A Case for Ecophenotypic Variants as Clinically and Neurobiologically Distinct Subtypes. American Journal of Psychiatry, 170(10), 1114–1133. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.12070957. https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.12070957
  1. Allen J Beck, M. Berzofsky, Caspar, R., & Krebs, C. (2013). Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, 2011–12. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/svpjri1112.pdf
  2. Smith, Erica & Jessica Stroop. (2019). Sexual Victimization Reported by Youth in Juvenile Facilities, 2018. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Accessed 25 Mar. 2020. https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=6746
  3. Herrenkohl, T., Jung, H., Lee, O., & Kim, M.-H. (2017). Effects of Child Maltreatment, Cumulative Victimization Experiences, and Proximal Life Stress on Adult Crime and Antisocial Behavior. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250506.pdf
  4. 2018 NCVRW Resource Guide: Sexual Violence Fact Sheet. (2018). Ovc.Ncjrs.Gov; Office for Victims of Crime. https://ovc.ncjrs.gov/ncvrw2018/info_flyers/fact_sheets/2018NCVRW_SexualViolence_508_QC.pdf
  5. Crime & Victimization in the United States. (2017). Ncjrs.Gov; Office for Victims of Crime. https://www.ncjrs.gov/ovc_archives/ncvrw/2017/images/en_artwork/Fact_Sheets/2017NCVRW_CrimeAndVictimization_508.pdf ‌
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