While conviction rates can sometimes exceed 60% for cases that make it to court, the devastating truth is that across the globe, from a mere 5% in some US studies to 76% in Scotland, the overwhelming majority of sexual assaults never even reach that point, crumbling under the weight of systemic attrition long before a courtroom verdict.
Key Takeaways
- In the United States, from 2005-2010, only 5.7% of reported rapes and sexual assaults resulted in a felony conviction
- In England and Wales, the conviction rate for adult rape cases flagged for charging in 2021 was 67.7%
- A 2019 study found that 5.2% of police-recorded sexual offences in Australia led to a conviction between 2013-2017
- In the US, only 310 out of 1000 sexual assaults lead to arrest, with conviction at 6.2 per 1000
- NCVS 2019 data: 21% of female victims and 13% of male victims reported rape/sexual assault to police
- In UK, 15.6% of sexual offences were reported to police in year ending March 2022
- Only 12.5% of rapes prosecuted in US per 2016 data
- UK CPS charged 2.6% of police-recorded rapes in 2021
- In Philadelphia, 43% of sexual assault arrests led to prosecution 2010-2019
- 58% of US sexual assault cases dropped pre-trial due to insufficient evidence
- UK: 63% of rape cases NFA by police pre-CPS 2021
- In Australia, 76% attrition from report to court 2013-17
- Average US sentence for rape is 12.5 years, but 52% serve less than 5 years
- UK: Average custodial sentence for rape 9 years 2022
- In Australia, median sentence for sexual assault 5 years 2020
Global conviction rates for sexual assault are alarmingly low despite high post-prosecution success.
Attrition Rates
- 58% of US sexual assault cases dropped pre-trial due to insufficient evidence
- UK: 63% of rape cases NFA by police pre-CPS 2021
- In Australia, 76% attrition from report to court 2013-17
- BJS: 52% of reported rapes no arrest 2008
- Philadelphia: 35% case attrition between arrest and trial 2015-19
- Sweden: 75% drop from report to prosecution 2018
- Canada: 60% sexual assault files closed without charge 2020
- NYC: 50% dismissal rate for sex crimes pre-trial 2019
- In England, 70% of charged rapes drop before court 2022
- LA: 25% cases dropped due to victim non-cooperation 2021
- New Zealand: 65% attrition during police investigation 2021
- Ireland: 55% of rape cases not prosecuted due to evidence 2020
- Texas: 40% sexual assault cases unfounded by police 2019
- UK police NFA 65% of rape reports 2019-20
- Maricopa: 30% pre-trial dismissals 2022
- US: Victim withdrawal causes 30% attrition
- Scotland: 50% cases dropped post-charge 2021-22
- Harris County: 28% cases no-billed 2021
- France: 50% investigations closed without trial 2020
- Wayne County: 45% attrition from referral to indictment 2020
- Germany: 60% cases closed for lack of suspect 2021
- Boston: 35% cases withdrawn by victim 2022
- South Australia: 70% no further action post-report 2022
Attrition Rates Interpretation
These statistics, from the US to Australia, reveal a global chasm between the act of reporting a sexual assault and the rare possibility of a courtroom, with justice seeming to evaporate at nearly every procedural step.
Conviction Rates
- In the United States, from 2005-2010, only 5.7% of reported rapes and sexual assaults resulted in a felony conviction
- In England and Wales, the conviction rate for adult rape cases flagged for charging in 2021 was 67.7%
- A 2019 study found that 5.2% of police-recorded sexual offences in Australia led to a conviction between 2013-2017
- In Los Angeles County, California, between 2010-2019, the conviction rate for sexual assault prosecutions was 63%
- UK Crown Prosecution Service data shows the conviction rate for rape prosecutions concluded in 2022 was 68.7%
- Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that in 2005, 40% of reported rapes led to arrest, but only 16% to conviction
- In Canada, 11% of sexual assault cases reported in 2018 resulted in a guilty finding
- A New York study from 2015-2019 showed 58% conviction rate for prosecuted sex crimes
- In Sweden, the conviction rate for reported rapes was 13% from 2012-2017
- US National Institute of Justice found 2-10% overall conviction rate for sexual assaults from 1990s data
- In 2020, Chicago's conviction rate for sexual assault cases was 72%
- Scottish courts had a 76% conviction rate for rape and attempted rape in 2021-22
- A 2018 meta-analysis showed average US conviction rate of 5% for sexual assault reports
- In Philadelphia, 69% of sexual assault prosecutions resulted in conviction from 2016-2020
- New Zealand police data indicates 18% conviction rate for sexual violations 2017-2021
- In 2014, US large jurisdictions averaged 70% conviction rate post-prosecution
- Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions reported 59% conviction rate for rape trials in 2020
- Wayne County, Michigan, had 65% conviction rate for sexual assaults 2015-2019
- In France, 20% of reported rapes led to conviction in 2019
- Maricopa County, Arizona, sexual assault conviction rate was 74% in 2022
- A BJS report from 2017 showed state conviction rates varying from 50-80% for prosecuted cases
- In Victoria, Australia, 12% of sexual assaults recorded led to proven guilt 2014-2018
- Boston, MA, had 71% conviction rate for sexual offenses 2018-2022
- Netherlands reported 25% conviction rate for sexual violence cases in 2020
- In 2007 US data, prosecution conviction rate was 68%
- South Africa had 8.6% conviction rate for sexual offences in 2021/22
- Harris County, Texas, 67% conviction rate for sexual assault 2019-2023
- In Germany, 10% of rape complaints ended in conviction 2018
- King County, WA, 73% conviction rate post-arrest for sex crimes 2020
Conviction Rates Interpretation
This grim international patchwork of statistics reveals a painful truth: once a sexual assault case actually reaches the courtroom, conviction is often likely, yet the vast, tragic chasm between a crime being reported and a perpetrator ever standing trial remains a systemic failure that betrays survivors worldwide.
Prosecution Rates
- Only 12.5% of rapes prosecuted in US per 2016 data
- UK CPS charged 2.6% of police-recorded rapes in 2021
- In Philadelphia, 43% of sexual assault arrests led to prosecution 2010-2019
- BJS: 36% of reported rapes forwarded for prosecution 2005
- Australia: 27% of sexual assault reports proceed to prosecution 2015-2019
- In Sweden, 20% of reported rapes prosecuted 2017
- US prosecutors decline 40% of sexual assault referrals
- Canada: 38% of sexual assaults cleared by charges 2019
- NYC: 47% prosecution rate for sex crimes 2018
- In England, 70% of flagged rape cases charged in 2022
- LA DA: 65% of sexual assault cases filed 2020
- New Zealand: 35% of sexual violation files prosecuted 2020
- Ireland: 50% of rape complaints prosecuted 2019
- In Texas, 55% of adult sexual assault referrals prosecuted 2021
- UK attrition: 97% drop from report to conviction, but 75% charge post-flag
- Maricopa County: 80% of arrests prosecuted for sex assault 2022
- In 2012, US average prosecution rate 34% for rapes
- Scotland: 60% of reported rapes referred to prosecutors 2021
- Harris County: 62% prosecution initiation for sexual assault 2022
- France: 30% of rapes lead to charges 2020
- Wayne County: 58% of cases charged 2019
- Germany: 40% prosecution rate for sexual assault complaints 2021
- Boston: 70% of detective recommendations result in charges 2021
- South Australia: 28% prosecution rate 2018-2022
Prosecution Rates Interpretation
These statistics paint a grim, global portrait of justice on a starvation diet, where the overwhelming majority of reported sexual assaults vanish into a chasm between a victim's courage and a courtroom.
Reporting Rates
- In the US, only 310 out of 1000 sexual assaults lead to arrest, with conviction at 6.2 per 1000
- NCVS 2019 data: 21% of female victims and 13% of male victims reported rape/sexual assault to police
- In UK, 15.6% of sexual offences were reported to police in year ending March 2022
- Australian Bureau of Statistics: 15% of sexual violence victims reported to police 2016
- 1 in 6 US women and 1 in 33 men report sexual assault victimization, but only 23% report
- In Canada, 6% of sexual assaults are reported to police per GSS 2014
- Sweden: 10-20% of rapes reported to police annually
- In 2021, only 31% of US sexual assault victims reported to law enforcement
- UK Crime Survey: 16% of female victims reported sexual offences 2020
- New Zealand: 13% of sexual violence reported to police 2018-19
- In India, NCRB data shows under 10% reporting rate for sexual crimes 2021
- BJS: Black victims report at 33%, white at 30% for sexual assault 2017-2018
- 65% of sexual assaults unreported due to fear of reprisal, per RAINN
- In France, 12% of rapes reported per IFOP survey 2018
- US military: 20-30% of assaults reported 2021
- Ireland: 20% reporting rate for sexual violence per CSO 2018
- South Africa: 1 in 9 rapes reported, per 1in9 campaign 2020
- Netherlands: 18% of sexual assaults reported 2019
- In colleges, 10% of student sexual assaults reported to campus police
- UK: Reporting rate increased 35% from 2013-2021 for rape
- 230 out of 1000 US assaults reported per NCVS 2022
- In 70% of sexual assaults, victim knows perpetrator, affecting reporting
- Germany: 8% of sexual violence reported 2020
- Australia indigenous women report at 5% rate
- US rural areas: 25% lower reporting than urban
- 40% of child sexual abuse reported immediately
- In Japan, less than 5% of sexual assaults reported 2019
- BJS: Elderly sexual assault reporting 20%
- In 48 states, mandatory reporting laws for child sexual abuse increase reports by 30%
- Only 25% of transgender victims report sexual assault, per NCVS 2017
- US workplace sexual harassment reported at 14%
- In Scotland, 22% of sexual crimes reported 2021-22
- Italy: 10% reporting rate for sexual violence 2021
Reporting Rates Interpretation
The global chorus of sexual assault victims is overwhelmingly silenced, as these starkly consistent statistics from nation to nation reveal a justice system that is less a beacon of hope and more a daunting, often re-traumatizing, fortress that the vast majority of survivors cannot or will not enter.
Sentencing Outcomes
- Average US sentence for rape is 12.5 years, but 52% serve less than 5 years
- UK: Average custodial sentence for rape 9 years 2022
- In Australia, median sentence for sexual assault 5 years 2020
- Federal US rape sentences average 198 months (16.5 years) 2021
- California state prison for rape average 11 years served 2019
- Canada: Average sentence 5 years for level 1 sexual assault 2020
- NYC: 10-20 years typical for forcible rape convictions 2022
- England rape sentence up 56% to 98 months average 2021
- Texas: Mandatory min 5 years for aggravated sexual assault 2021
- Sweden: Average 4.5 years for rape 2020
- Ireland: Average 8.5 years for rape 2022
- New Zealand: 7-10 years common for rape sentencing 2021
- 35% of US rape convicts receive probation only
- UK child rape average sentence 13 years 2022
- Maricopa County: Average 12 years for sexual assault 2022
- 60% of sentences under 5 years for non-aggravated sexual assault US states
- Scotland: 10 years average for rape 2021-22
- Harris County: 15 years median for sexual assault 2022
- France: 8 years average for rape conviction 2021
- Wayne County: 10-25 years range for CSC I 2021
- Germany: 2-5 years typical for sexual assault 2022
- Boston: 8-12 years average post-guidelines 2022
- 75% of US jurisdictions have sex offender registration post-sentence
- South Australia: 12 years max but average 6 for sexual assault 2022
Sentencing Outcomes Interpretation
The global sentencing landscape for sexual assault resembles a grim lottery where, despite some jurisdictions handing out stern penalties, the odds often favor a disturbingly light sentence that hardly serves as a proportional reckoning for the crime.
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