Local Statistics

Crime Victim Center of Erie County provided comprehensive intervention, crisis support, and advocacy to over 6,000 individuals in 2024.

Among these numbers were 1,319 total survivors of sexual violence which includes:

  • 817 adults who’ve experienced sexual assault and abuse directly
  • 250 children
  • 252 significant others

 

CVC returned $80,772.51 in Crime Victims Compensation for 31 claims.

 

Lastly, CVC’s Prevention Education team presented almost 600 programs to 10,565 participants!

  • 341 presentations to 6,462 Preschool – 12th grade students
  • 33 presentations to 683 college students
  • 220 programs to 3,420 adults and professionals in the community.

 

 

The Prevention Education department presented programs on:

  • Sexual abuse
  • Internet safety
  • Bullying
  • Cyberbullying
  • Boundaries
  • Healthy relationships
  • Youth violence
  • Sexual assault
  • Sexual harassment
  • Human trafficking
  • Mandated Reporting

National Statistics

  • There is an average of 321,500 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year.
  • In 2023 alone, 376,038 women were victims of rape or sexual assault in the United States. 104,979 men were also victims of rape or sexual assault in 2023.
  • Approximately 54% of sexual assault victims are between the ages of 18 and 34.

College Campus Statistics

  • 20% – 25% of college women and 15% of college men are victims of forced sex during their time in college (b)
  • A 2002 study revealed that 63.3% of men at one university who self-reported acts qualifying as rape or attempted rape admitted to committing repeat rapes (i)
  • More than 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault (b)
  • 27% of college women have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact (f)

Sexual Assault in the U.S.

  • 1 in 4 women and 1 in 26 men have reported completed or attempted rape in their lifetimes.
  • 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men reported unwanted sexual contact at some point in their lifetimes.
  • 1 in 3 women and 1 in 9 men reported sexual harassment in a public place at some point in their lifetimes.
  • Nearly 1 in 4 women and about 1 in 9 men reported sexual coercion victimization in their lifetimes.

Reporting to the Police

  • Rape is the most under-reported crime of ALL crimes (Rainn.org)
  • 68% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police (Rainn.org)
  • 98% of rapists will never spend a day in jail (Rainn.org)
  • The prevalence of false reporting is low between 2% and 10%. (j)
sexual assault statistics

The Good News

Sexual assault has fallen by 49% in recent years.

Had the 1993 rate held steady, about 9.7 million Americans would have been assaulted in the last 20 years. Thanks to the decline, the actual number of victims was about 4.2 million. If not for the progress we’ve made in the last 20 years, an additional 5.5 million Americans would have become victims of sexual violence.

While we should be happy that we’re making progress, we are still a very long way from solving this problem. (Taken from RAINN.org and Department of Justice. National Crime Victimization Survey. 1993-2013.)

References

http://www.nsvrc.org/publications/nsvrc-publications-fact-sheets/media-packet-statistics-about-sexual-violence

(a) Black, M. C., Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., Smith, S .G., Walters, M. L., Merrick,
M. T., Stevens, M. R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence
Survey (NISVS): 2010 summary report. Retrieved from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control:
http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf

(b) Cullen, F., Fisher, B., & Turner, M., The sexual victimization of college
women (NCJ 182369). (2000). Retrieved from the U.S. Department
of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of
Justice: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/182369.pdf

(c) Delisi, M. (2010). Murder by numbers: Monetary costs imposed by a sample of
homicide offenders. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 21, 501-513.
doi:10.1080/14789940903564388

(d) Duhart, D. (2001). Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99. Bureau of Justice
Statistics. Available at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/vw99.pdf

(e) Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I. A., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a
national survey of adult men and women: Prevalence, characteristics and risk
factors. Child Abuse & Neglect 14, 19-28. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(90)90077-7

(f) Gross, A. M., Winslett, A., Roberts, M., & Gohm, C. L. (2006). An Examination of
Sexual Violence Against College Women. Violence Against Women, 12, 288-300.
doi: 10.1177/1077801205277358

(g) Hanson, R. F., Resnick, H. S., Saunders, B. E., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Best, C. (1999).
Factors related to the reporting of childhood rape. Child Abuse and Neglect,
23(6), 559–569.

(h) Heenan, M., & Murray, S. (2006). Study of reported rapes in Victoria 2000-
2003: Summary research report. Retrieved from the State of Victoria (Australia),
Department of Human Services: http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/
pdf_file/0004/644152/StudyofReportedRapes.pdf

(i) Lisak, D., Gardinier, L., Nicksa, S. C., & Cote, A. M. (2010). False allegations of
sexual assault: An analysis of ten years of reported cases. Violence Against
Women, 16, 1318-1334. doi:10.1177/1077801210387747

(j) Lonsway, K. A., Archambault, J., & Lisak, D. (2009). False reports: Moving beyond
the issue to successfully investigate and prosecute non-stranger sexual assault.
The Voice, 3(1), 1-11. Retrieved from the National District Attorneys Association:
http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/the_voice_vol_3_no_1_2009.pdf

(k) Miller, T. R., Cohen, M. A., & Wiersema, B. (1996). Victim costs and
consequences: A new look (NCJ 155282). Retrieved from the U.S. Department
of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice:
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/victcost.pdf

(l) National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. (2012).
National Plan to Prevent the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children.
Retrieved from http://www.preventtogether.org/Resources/Documents/
NationalPlan2012FINAL.pdf

(m) National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (2011). Child sexual abuse
prevention: Overview. Retrieved from http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/
Publications_NSVRC_Overview_Child-sexual-abuse-prevention_0.pdf

(n) Rennison, C. A. (2002). Rape and sexual assault: Reporting to police and
medical attention, 1992-2000 [NCJ 194530]. Retrieved from the U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics:
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsarp00.pdf

© National Sexual Violence Resource Center 2012, 2013. All rights reserved.