Imagine a crime where the vast majority of victims must suffer in silence, as the startling reality is that out of every 1,000 sexual assaults in the United States, only about 310 are ever reported to the police.
Key Takeaways
- Only 31% of sexual assaults are reported to police in the United States
- Out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, 310 are reported to police
- 5% of sexual assaults result in incarceration of the perpetrator
- 65% of victims cite fear of reprisal as reason for not reporting
- 45% fear not being believed
- 35% feel police would not help
- Black women report at 30% rate vs 40% white
- Hispanic victims report 25% of assaults
- Asian women report only 15%
- Reporting rates rose 12% for women 2010-2020
- Male reporting up 5% since 2015
- Post-#MeToo, workplace reports +30% 2018
Most sexual assaults go unreported and rarely result in legal consequences.
Demographic Differences
- Black women report at 30% rate vs 40% white
- Hispanic victims report 25% of assaults
- Asian women report only 15%
- Women aged 18-24 report 42%
- Men over 65 report 10%
- LGBTQ+ report 20% lower than straight
- Transgender report 12%
- Native American women 25% report rate
- Military personnel 25%
- College students 20%
- Male victims 10% report
- Child victims under 12: 30%
- Low-income report 28%
- High-income 35%
- Urban black men 18%
- Rural white women 32%
- Disabled victims 22%
- Immigrants 16%
- Single mothers 35%
- Married women 28%
- Teens 12-17: 38%
- Seniors 65+: 12%
- Gang-affiliated 15%
- Incarcerated 8%
Demographic Differences Interpretation
These statistics paint a grim and uneven mosaic of silence, where the likelihood of a victim's story being heard depends disturbingly on who they are, where they live, and the very power structures meant to protect them.
Reporting Prevalence
- Only 31% of sexual assaults are reported to police in the United States
- Out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, 310 are reported to police
- 5% of sexual assaults result in incarceration of the perpetrator
- 230 out of 1,000 sexual assaults lead to arrest
- Victims of sexual assault are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression
- 94% of sexual assaults reported by women result in no arrest
- In 2016, only 23% of reported rapes led to an arrest
- 2/3 of sexual assaults are not reported to police
- College women report 20% of their assaults
- 10-20% of female college students report rape
- 96% of male victims do not report sexual assault
- 90% of child sexual abuse is not reported immediately
- 60% of rapes are not reported, per NCVS 2019
- 77% of rapes/sexual assaults by intimates are not reported
- Reporting rates for sexual assault increased from 19% in 2005 to 31% in 2019
- 21% of transgender people report sexual assault to police
- 35% of sexual assaults against Native American women are reported
- 25% of assaults in military are reported
- 40% of workplace sexual assaults are reported internally
- 15% of elderly sexual assault victims report
- 50% of gang-related sexual assaults are reported
- 28% of sexual assaults in prisons are reported
- 32% reporting rate in urban areas
- 22% in rural areas
- 30% for acquaintance assaults reported
- 45% for stranger assaults
- 18% of assaults involving weapons are reported
- 34% without weapons
- 29% reporting rate for assaults at home
- 38% at friend's home
Reporting Prevalence Interpretation
This sobering landscape of statistics reveals a justice system where silence is the most common sentence, conviction a rare punctuation mark, and the victim's trauma is often the only guaranteed outcome.
Reporting Trends and Changes
- Reporting rates rose 12% for women 2010-2020
- Male reporting up 5% since 2015
- Post-#MeToo, workplace reports +30% 2018
- College Title IX reports doubled 2011-2021
- Military SAPR reports up 20% 2013-2020
- NCVS shows 10% increase in reporting 2005-2019
- Child reporting improved 15% with awareness campaigns
- Trans reporting up 8% post-2015
- Native communities saw 5% rise with VAWA
- Urban reporting steady at 32% 2015-2020
- Rural dipped to 20% in 2020
- Online reporting tools boosted 25% in 2020
- Pandemic saw 15% drop in reports 2020
- Stranger assault reporting stable at 45%
- Intimate partner up 18% 2016-2020
- Weapon-involved reports +10% with body cams
- Prison reports declined 5% 2010-2019
- Elderly reporting +7% with hotlines
- Gang areas saw 12% rise post-intervention
- Black reporting +9% 2010-2020
- Hispanic steady at 25%
- Asian +3% with language services
- LGBTQ+ +15% post-Obergefell
Reporting Trends and Changes Interpretation
While each uptick in reporting across diverse communities, from campuses to the military, represents a hard-won crack in the wall of silence, the sobering reality is that we are still mostly measuring the courage to come forward, not the absence of the crime itself.
Underreporting Rates
- 65% of victims cite fear of reprisal as reason for not reporting
- 45% fear not being believed
- 35% feel police would not help
- 27% report to avoid family problems, but still underreport
- 20% did not want offender prosecuted
- 13% believed it was a private matter
- 42% of unreported cases due to victim shame
- 50% of male victims fear being labeled gay
- 70% of child victims delay reporting due to fear
- 55% cite inadequate proof as reason
- 38% fear retaliation from perpetrator
- 25% lack of trust in system
- 60% of transgender victims fear discrimination
- 75% of Native women fear cultural stigma
- 80% in military fear career impact
- 40% workplace victims fear job loss
- 68% elderly fear disbelief
- 52% gang victims fear gang reprisal
- 90% prison inmates fear further victimization
- 47% urban victims cite inefficiency
- 33% rural victims cite distance to police
- 62% acquaintance fear relationship damage
- 15% stranger assaults underreported due to trauma
- 55% weapon-involved fear escalation
- 30% non-weapon cite minor injury
- 48% home assaults private matter
- 36% friend's home fear social loss
Underreporting Rates Interpretation
A chilling portrait emerges from these statistics, revealing that victims of sexual assault are not silent by nature but are systematically silenced by a complex web of fears—fear of the perpetrator, fear of the system meant to protect them, and fear of the very communities they belong to—making the act of reporting an act of profound courage against overwhelming social and institutional odds.
Sources & References
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- Reference 4CDCcdc.govVisit source
- Reference 5NCBIncbi.nlm.nih.govVisit source
- Reference 61IN61in6.orgVisit source
- Reference 7BJSbjs.ojp.govVisit source
- Reference 8TRANSEQUALITYtransequality.orgVisit source
- Reference 9JUSTICEjustice.govVisit source
- Reference 10SAPRsapr.milVisit source
- Reference 11EEOCeeoc.govVisit source
- Reference 12NCEAncea.aoa.govVisit source
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- Reference 15DHSdhs.govVisit source