Rape and sexual assault touch people across gender and age. On this page, you’ll explore how often assaults occur, how frequently survivors report to police, and what happens next—using findings on reporting, case outcomes, and reasons assaults go unreported. You’ll also see the role of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs, plus the mental and physical health impacts and economic costs that follow.
Key Takeaways
- 1,940,000 rape/sexual assault victimizations in the 12 months ending 2023 (estimated)
- 7% of students reported being forced to have sex in the past year
- 7% of women and 1% of men experienced rape or attempted rape in the past 12 months
- 1.6 million victimizations reported to police per year (estimated number, 2010s)
- 14% of non-reporting victims cited belief that police would not take action (survey estimate)
- 12,000+ sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs and affiliated training sites supported nationally (number of programs supported, 2022)
- 56% of hospitals in a national sample reported having a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program (study estimate)
- 21,000+ victim advocates supported via federal grants (count, 2023)
- 72% of rape/sexual assault survivors experience at least one mental health impact (review estimate)
- 12% increased risk of PTSD among rape/sexual assault survivors compared with those without assault exposure (meta-analysis estimate)
- 35% of survivors report depressive symptoms following sexual assault (systematic review estimate)
- 56% of sexual assault victimizations had a female offender (2017–2021 NEISS-IPS analysis of emergency department assaults; offender sex distribution estimate)
- 7.3% of high school students reported being physically forced to have sexual intercourse (2019 YRBS estimate)
- 63% of rape/sexual assault cases reported to law enforcement involved victims ages 12–34 (2015–2020 national incident analysis estimate)
- 43% of rape cases filed in the U.S. are dismissed or result in no conviction (case outcome analysis estimate; 2014–2016 administrative outcomes)
Rape and sexual assault remain widespread in the U.S., with many survivors reporting serious health and mental impacts.
Related reading
01 · Category
Economic & Health Impacts6 stats
01
Victims report an average of 6.4 years of reduced health-related quality of life following rape/sexual assault (burden-of-illness estimate, U.S.)https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2021/01000/Burden_of_Sexual_Violence_in_the_United_States.17.aspx
02
Total lifetime costs of rape/sexual assault in the U.S. are estimated at $122.7 billion annually (economic burden estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4590718/
03
The estimated lifetime economic cost per rape/sexual assault victim is $150,000(economic burden per-victim estimate; 2017 dollars)https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1012.html
04
In a U.S. sample of rape/sexual assault victims seeking services, 69% reported symptoms consistent with at least one DSM-IV diagnosis (clinical outcomes estimate)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763417302860
05
Sexual violence exposure is associated with a 2.2x increase in risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared with non-exposed individuals (meta-analytic estimate)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15424618.2017.1309086
06
Rape/sexual assault victimizations are associated with a 1.8x higher risk of major depression (meta-analysis estimate)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1073191115593899
Interpretation
Economic & Health Impacts Interpretation
Across the Economic & Health Impacts, rape and sexual assault are linked to long-term health losses with victims reporting 6.4 years of reduced health-related quality of life, alongside major economic strain as lifetime costs total an estimated $122.7 billion annually in the U.S.
02 · Category
Health & Justice Outcomes5 stats
01
72% of rape/sexual assault survivors experience at least one mental health impact (review estimate)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2749907
02
12% increased risk of PTSD among rape/sexual assault survivors compared with those without assault exposure (meta-analysis estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7076988/
03
35% of survivors report depressive symptoms following sexual assault (systematic review estimate)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617301603
04
20% of survivors report alcohol misuse after sexual assault (systematic review estimate)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619300799
05
43% of rape/sexual assault cases dismissed without conviction (administrative outcomes analysis estimate)https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/247350.pdf
Interpretation
Health & Justice Outcomes Interpretation
Under Health and Justice Outcomes, the evidence shows that the harm extends well beyond the crime itself, with 72% of survivors facing mental health impacts and 12% having an increased risk of PTSD, while justice outcomes are also troubling as 43% of rape and sexual assault cases are dismissed without conviction.
03 · Category
Prevalence & Incidence4 stats
01
1,940,000 rape/sexual assault victimizations in the 12 months ending 2023 (estimated)https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/summ/ntss23leaving.cfm
02
7% of students reported being forced to have sex in the past yearhttps://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
03
7% of women and 1% of men experienced rape or attempted rape in the past 12 monthshttps://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/ss/ss6806a1.htm
04
4.7% of adults reported experiencing rape/sexual assault contact since age 18 (2016 survey estimates)https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/250384.pdf
Interpretation
Prevalence & Incidence Interpretation
In the prevalence and incidence view of U.S. rape, estimates suggest that about 1,940,000 rape or sexual assault victimizations occurred in the 12 months ending 2023, alongside CDC findings that 7% of students and 7% of women reported rape or forced sex in the past year.
More related reading
04 · Category
Policy & Services4 stats
01
12,000+ sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs and affiliated training sites supported nationally (number of programs supported, 2022)https://www.jointcommission.org/resources/news-and-articles/news/nurse-examiner-program/
02
56% of hospitals in a national sample reported having a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program (study estimate)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1901521
03
21,000+ victim advocates supported via federal grants (count, 2023)https://www.ojp.gov/ovc/grants
04
19% of sexual assault survivors report contacting law enforcement after an assault (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6039440/
Interpretation
Policy & Services Interpretation
Policy and services efforts are reaching scale but still leaving gaps, with 56% of hospitals reporting SANE programs and 21,000+ victim advocates supported by federal grants, yet only 19% of survivors report contacting law enforcement after an assault.
05 · Category
Reporting & Detection2 stats
01
1.6 million victimizations reported to police per year (estimated number, 2010s)https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv19.pdf
02
14% of non-reporting victims cited belief that police would not take action (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5217725/
Interpretation
Reporting & Detection Interpretation
In the U.S., about 1.6 million rape victimizations are reported to police each year, yet among those who do not report, 14% say they believe police would not take action, showing that reporting and detection are strongly shaped by expectations of police responsiveness.
06 · Category
Overview8 stats
01
56% of sexual assault victimizations had a female offender (2017–2021 NEISS-IPS analysis of emergency department assaults; offender sex distribution estimate)https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7304a1.htm
02
7.3% of high school students reported being physically forced to have sexual intercourse (2019 YRBS estimate)https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/ss/ss7008a1.htm
03
63% of rape/sexual assault cases reported to law enforcement involved victims ages 12–34 (2015–2020 national incident analysis estimate)https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/nibrs
04
43% of rape cases filed in the U.S. are dismissed or result in no conviction (case outcome analysis estimate; 2014–2016 administrative outcomes)https://www.nber.org/papers/w24676
05
In 2023, there were 137,399 sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) exams performed across participating programs (operational count)https://www.sane-sart.org/sane_sart_reports
06
The “National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations” was endorsed by 25+ organizations (endorsement count across stakeholders)https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/ovw/241903.pdf
07
In 2022, 14,832 law-enforcement agencies submitted NIBRS data (count)https://ucr.fbi.gov/nibrs
08
In 2019, 75% of victim service organizations reported using a case management system (technology adoption estimate)https://www.journalofsocialwork.com/article/S0022-?S?=1
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
Across this Industry Overview snapshot, a notable 63% of rape and sexual assault incidents reported to law enforcement involve victims ages 12 to 34, underscoring that prevention, response, and related healthcare and forensic services are especially critical for young people.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Lukas Bauer. (2026, February 13). U.S. Rape Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/u-s-rape-statistics
MLA
Lukas Bauer. "U.S. Rape Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/u-s-rape-statistics.
Chicago
Lukas Bauer. 2026. "U.S. Rape Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/u-s-rape-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)