In 2023, Texas had the highest number of forcible rape cases in the United States, with 15,097 reported rapes. Delaware had the lowest number of reported forcible rape cases at 194. Number vs. rate It is perhaps unsurprising that Texas and California reported the highest number of rapes, as these states have the highest population of states in the U.S. When looking at the rape rate, or the number of rapes per 100,000 of the population, a very different picture is painted: Alaska was the state with the highest rape rate in the country in 2023, with California ranking as 30th in the nation. The prevalence of rape Rape and sexual assault are notorious for being underreported crimes, which means that the prevalence of sex crimes is likely much higher than what is reported. Additionally, more than a third of women worry about being sexually assaulted, and most sexual assaults are perpetrated by someone the victim knew.

The goal of the study was to develop an intervention that would be analogous to safety planning for battered women, and one that could be used by sexual assault counselors as an adjunct to psychological counseling. The project was conducted at Safe Horizon in New York City and at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle from August 2003 to May 2005. The client populations of the two programs were complementary. Safe Horizon's clients were primarily Black (36 percent) and Latina (26 percent). In contrast, a majority of Harborview clients were White (59 percent), although Harborview also had many non-White, non-Hispanic clients. Approximately half of the eligible candidates were randomly assigned to participate in a four-hour workshop on avoiding sexual assault while the others were assigned to a control condition that did not receive the training. Both groups participated in a baseline assessment battery administered in person. After completion of the assessment, those assigned to the experimental condition began the workshop. Researchers contacted women in both groups six months later for a second assessment, this time conducted over the phone. The 14 data files contain information related to alcohol consumption, tonic immobility, knowledge of sexual assault risk factors, attributions for the most recent sexual assault, self-efficacy, risky behaviors, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology, and sexual victimization. The data also contain one file with demographic information. Each data file contains 84 cases. Across all parts, the data collection has 612 variables.

This study had four key goals. The first goal was to identify how many women in the United States and in college settings have ever been raped or sexually assaulted during their lifetime and within the past year. The next goal was to identify key case characteristics of drug-facilitated and forcible rapes. The third goal was to examine factors that affect the willingness of women to report rape to law enforcement or seek help from their support network. The last goal was to make comparisons between the different types of rape. Part 1 (General Population) data consisted of a national telephone household sample of 3,001 United States women, whereas Part 2 (College Population) data consisted of 2,000 college women selected from a reasonably representative national list of women attending four year colleges and universities. Both data parts contain the same 399 variables. Interviews were completed between January 23 and June 26, 2006. Respondents were asked questions regarding risk perception, fear of violence, and accommodation behavior. The women were also asked their opinions and attitudes about reporting rape to the authorities and disclosing rape to family members, peers, or other individuals. This includes questions about barriers to reporting and experiences that women have had being the recipient of a disclosure from a friend, relative, or other individual. The respondents were asked a series of questions about rape, including different types of forcible, drug- or alcohol-facilitated, and incapacitated rape. For women who endorsed one or more rape experiences, a wide range of rape characteristics were assessed including characteristics around the nature of the event, perpetrator-victim relationship, occurrence of injury, involvement of drugs or alcohol, receipt of medical care, and whether the rape was reported to the authorities. The respondents were also asked a series of questions regarding substance use, including prescription and illegal drugs and alcohol. Additionally, a series of questions related to post-traumatic stress disorder and depression were asked. Finally, the women were asked to provide basic demographic information such as age, race, ethnicity, and income.

This survey was conducted by the Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research at Northwestern University to gather information for two projects that analyzed the impact of crime on the lives of city dwellers. These projects were the Reactions to Crime (RTC) Project, which was supported by the United States Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice as part of its Research Agreements Program, and the Rape Project, supported by the National Center for the Prevention and Control of Rape, a subdivision of the National Institute of Mental Health. Both investigations were concerned with individual behavior and collective reactions to crime. The Rape Project was specifically concerned with sexual assault and its consequences for the lives of women. The three cities selected for study were Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. A total of ten neighborhoods were chosen from these cities along a number of dimensions -- ethnicity, class, crime, and levels of organizational activity. In addition, a small city-wide sample was drawn from each city. Reactions to crime topics covered how individuals band together to deal with crime problems, individual responses to crime such as property marking or the installation of locks and bars, and the impact of fear of crime on day-to-day behavior -- for example, shopping and recreational patterns. Respondents were asked several questions that called for self-reports of behavior, including events and conditions in their home areas, their relationship to their neighbors, who they knew and visited around their homes, and what they watched on TV and read in the newspapers. Also included were a number of questions measuring respondents' perceptions of the extent of crime in their communities, whether they knew someone who had been a victim, and what they had done to reduce their own chances of being victimized. Questions on sexual assault/rape included whether the respondent thought this was a neighborhood problem, if the number of rapes in the neighborhood were increasing or decreasing, how many women they thought had been sexually assaulted or raped in the neighborhood in the previous year, and how they felt about various rape prevention measures, such as increasing home security, women not going out alone at night, women dressing more modestly, learning self-defense techniques, carrying weapons, increasing men's respect of women, and newspapers publishing the names of known rapists. Female respondents were asked whether they thought it likely that they would be sexually assaulted in the next year, how much they feared sexual assault when going out alone after dark in the neighborhood, whether they knew a sexual assault victim, whether they had reported any sexual assaults to police, and where and when sexual assaults took place that they were aware of. Demographic information collected on respondents includes age, race, ethnicity, education, occupation, income, and whether the respondent owned or rented their home.

In the past few years it has become alarmingly clear that women with disabilities are at an extremely high risk for emotional, sexual, and physical assault. The Developmental Disabilities Institute at Wayne State University, in collaboration with the United Cerebral Palsy Association in Michigan, conducted a one-year study to investigate the prevalence and correlates of, and service system capacity related to, domestic abuse among women with physical disabilities in Michigan. The study aimed to address the following research questions: (1) What is the prevalence of domestic violence among a sample of women with physical disabilities? (2) What potential factors for domestic violence exist among women with physical disabilities? and (3) What is the capacity of existing support programs (e.g., safe houses, shelters, and service agencies) to assist women with physical disabilities? The population for this study was women over the age of 18 who had physical disabilities. Consistent with the work of other researchers, physical disabilities in this study were defined as those disabilities that result in functional impairment, such as cerebral palsy, post-polio syndrome, spina bifida, amputation, rheumatic conditions, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and stroke. A sample of 177 women was recruited through several mechanisms. To address the question of domestic abuse prevalence, the women participating in the study were first asked to complete a brief questionnaire addressing demographic characteristics and their experience with domestic violence (Part 1, Screening Interview Data). Fifty-six percent (100) of the 177 women interviewed indicated a positive history of abuse at their initial screening. In order to address the second research question about the correlates of abuse, this subsample of 100 women was invited and encouraged to participate in the second phase of the research, which involved a more extensive interview (Part 2, Abuse Interview Data). The interview used was based on a protocol developed by Nosek (1995) that addressed demographic characteristics, social networks, and abuse history. Variables in Parts 1 and 2 include type of disability, type of personal assistance needed, and whether the respondent was ever physically, emotionally, or sexually abused. Part 2 also contains variables on sources of monthly income, who perpetrated the abuse, the abuser's gender, how long the victim knew the abuser, whether the victim sought assistance from a domestic violence program or shelter, and a description of the worst incident of physical abuse. Demographic variables in Parts 1 and 2 include ethnicity, age, employment status, and marital status.

This table contains 48 series, with data for years 1998 - 2000 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years), and is no longer being released. This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 item: Canada); Estimates (2 items: Women;Percent); Reason for admission (24 items: Total admissions;Abusive situations;Physical abuse;Sexual abuse; ...).

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Investigative Interview Protocol impacted child sexual abuse case outcomes within the justice system. The researchers coded information from child protection and police reports, Children's Justice Center (CJC) intake forms, and the CJC electronic database to create a dataset on 1,280 alleged child sexual abuse cases involving children interviewed in Salt Lake County, Utah, between 1994 and 2000. Specifically, the research team gathered case characteristics and case outcomes data on 551 alleged child sexual abuse cases in which investigative interviews were conducted from 1994 to mid-September 1997 before the NICHD protocol was implemented, and 729 alleged child sexual abuse cases in which investigative interviews were conducted from mid-September 1997 to 2000 after the implementation of the NICHD protocol, so that pre-NICHD protocol and NICHD protocol interview case outcomes could be compared. The same police detectives conducted both the pre-NICHD protocol interviews and the NICHD protocol interviews. The dataset contains a total of 116 variables pertaining to cases of suspected child abuse. The major categories of variables include demographic data on the suspected child victim and on the suspected perpetrator, on case characteristics, on case outcomes, and on time delays.

Crime in the United States, by Region, Geographic Division, and State, 2015–2016

The FBI collects these data through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.

FBI link

Important note about rape data

In 2013, the FBI UCR Program initiated the collection of rape data under a revised definition and removed the term “forcible” from the offense name. The UCR Program now defines rape as follows:

Rape (revised definition): Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. (This includes the offenses of rape, sodomy, and sexual assault with an object as converted from data submitted via the National Incident-Based Reporting System [NIBRS].)

Rape (legacy definition): The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.

General comments

• This table provides the estimated number of offenses and the rate (per 100,000 inhabitants) of crime in each region, geographic division, and state in 2015 and 2016, and the 2-year percent change in each.
• Violent crime includes the offenses of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape (revised definition), robbery, and aggravated assault. Property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.
• The UCR Program does not have sufficient data to estimate for arson.

Caution against ranking

Any comparisons of crime among different locales should take into consideration relevant factors in addition to the area’s crime statistics. UCR Statistics: Their Proper Use provides more details concerning the proper use of UCR statistics.

Methodology

• The data used in creating this table were from all law enforcement agencies in the UCR Program (including those submitting less than 12 months of data).
• Crime statistics include estimated offense totals (except arson) for agencies submitting less than 12 months of offense reports for each year.
• The FBI derives state totals by estimating for nonreporting and partially reporting agencies within each state. The UCR Program aggregates a state total using the state’s individual agency estimates.

Offense estimation

These tables contain statistics for the entire United States. Because not all law enforcement agencies provide data for complete reporting periods, the FBI includes estimated crime numbers in these presentations. The FBI computes estimates for participating agencies not providing 12 months of complete data. For agencies supplying 3 to 11 months of data, the national UCR Program estimates for the missing data by following a standard estimation procedure using the data provided by the agency. If an agency has supplied less than 3 months of data, the FBI computes estimates by using the known crime figures of similar areas within a state and assigning the same proportion of crime volumes to nonreporting agencies. The estimation process considers the following: population size covered by the agency; type of jurisdiction, e.g., police department versus sheriff’s office; and geographic location.

In response to various circumstances, the FBI has estimated offense totals for some states. For example, problems at the state level (e.g., noncompliance with UCR guidelines, technological difficulties) have, at times, resulted in data that cannot be used for publication, and estimation was necessary. Also, efforts by an agency to convert to NIBRS have contributed to the need for unique estimation procedures.

A summary of state-specific and offense-specific estimation procedures is available in the “Estimation of state-level data” section of the Methodology.

Rape estimation

This table contains estimates based on both the legacy and revised definitions of rape. Agencies submit data based on only one of these definitions. Within each population group size, the proportion of female rape victims was calculated from all NIBRS reports of rape, sodomy, and sexual assault with an object. For agencies that reported using the revised definition, the actual number of reported rapes was decreased by the calculated proportion to arrive at an estimate for the number of rapes using the legacy definition. Conversely, for agencies that reported using the legacy definition, the actual nu...

Goal 16Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levelsTarget 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhereIndicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and ageVC_IHR_PSRC: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex (victims per 100,000 population)VC_IHR_PSRCN: Number of victims of intentional homicide, by sex (number)Indicator 16.1.2: Conflict-related deaths per 100,000 population, by sex, age and causeVC_DTH_TOCV: Number of conflict-related deaths (civilians) per 100,000 population (Per 100,000 population)VC_DTH_TOCVN: Number of conflict-related deaths (civilians), by sex, age and cause of death (Number)VC_DTH_TOCVR: Conflict-related death rate (civilians), by sex, age and cause of death (%)Indicator 16.1.3: Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 monthsVC_VOV_PHYL: Proportion of population subjected to physical violence in the previous 12 months, by sex (%)VC_VOV_ROBB: Proportion of population subjected to robbery in the previous 12 months, by sex (%)VC_VOV_SEXL: Proportion of population subjected to sexual violence in the previous 12 months, by sex (%)Indicator 16.1.4: Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they liveVC_SNS_WALN: Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live (%)Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of childrenIndicator 16.2.1: Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past monthVC_VAW_PHYPYV: Proportion of children aged 1-14 years who experienced physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in last month (% of children aged 1-14 years)Indicator 16.2.2: Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitationVC_HTF_DETVFL: Detected victims of human trafficking for forced labour, servitude and slavery, by age and sex (number)VC_HTF_DETVOP: Detected victims of human trafficking for other purposes, by age and sex (number)VC_HTF_DETVOG: Detected victims of human trafficking for removal of organ, by age and sex (number)VC_HTF_DETVSX: Detected victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitaton, by age and sex (number)VC_HTF_DETV: Detected victims of human trafficking, by age and sex (number)Indicator 16.2.3: Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18VC_VAW_SXVLN: Proportion of population aged 18-29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18, by sex (% of population aged 18-29)Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for allIndicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanismsVC_PRR_PHYV: Police reporting rate for physical assault, by sex (%)VC_PRR_SEXV: Police reporting rate for sexual assault, by sex (%)VC_PRR_ROBB: Police reporting rate for robbery, by sex (%)Indicator 16.3.2: Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison populationVC_PRS_UNSNT: Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population (%)Indicator 16.3.3: Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanismTarget 16.4: By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crimeIndicator 16.4.1: Total value of inward and outward illicit financial flows (in current United States dollars)Indicator 16.4.2: Proportion of seized, found or surrendered arms whose illicit origin or context has been traced or established by a competent authority in line with international instrumentsVC_ARM_SZTRACE: Proportion of seized, found or surrendered arms whose illicit origin or context has been traced or established by a competent authority in line with international instrumentsTarget 16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their formsIndicator 16.5.1: Proportion of persons who had at least one contact with a public official and who paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials, during the previous 12 monthsIU_COR_BRIB: Prevalence rate of bribery, by sex (%)Indicator 16.5.2: Proportion of businesses that had at least one contact with a public official and that paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials during the previous 12 monthsIC_FRM_BRIB: Bribery incidence (% of firms experiencing at least one bribe payment request)Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levelsIndicator 16.6.1: Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget, by sector (or by budget codes or similar)GF_XPD_GBPC: Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget (%)Indicator 16.6.2: Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public servicesTarget 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levelsIndicator 16.7.1: Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groupsSG_DMK_PARLCC_JC: Number of chairs of permanent committees, by age sex and focus of the committee, Joint CommitteesSG_DMK_PARLMP_LC: Ratio for female members of parliaments (Ratio of the proportion of women in parliament in the proportion of women in the national population with the age of eligibility as a lower bound boundary), Lower Chamber or UnicameralSG_DMK_PARLSP_LC: Number of speakers in parliament, by age and sex , Lower Chamber or UnicameralSG_DMK_PARLCC_LC: Number of chairs of permanent committees, by age sex and focus of the committee, Lower Chamber or UnicameralSG_DMK_PARLMP_UC: Ratio for female members of parliaments (Ratio of the proportion of women in parliament in the proportion of women in the national population with the age of eligibility as a lower bound boundary), Upper ChamberSG_DMK_PARLSP_UC: Number of speakers in parliament, by age and sex, Upper ChamberSG_DMK_PARLCC_UC: Number of chairs of permanent committees, by age sex and focus of the committee, Upper ChamberSG_DMK_PARLYR_LC: Ratio of young members in parliament (Ratio of the proportion of young members in parliament (age 45 or below) in the proportion of the national population (age 45 or below) with the age of eligibility as a lower bound boundary), Lower Chamber or UnicameralSG_DMK_PARLYP_LC: Proportion of youth in parliament (age 45 or below), Lower Chamber or Unicameral (%)SG_DMK_PARLYN_LC: Number of youth in parliament (age 45 or below), Lower Chamber or Unicameral (Number)SG_DMK_PARLYR_UC: Ratio of young members in parliament (Ratio of the proportion of young members in parliament (age 45 or below) in the proportion of the national population (age 45 or below) with the age of eligibility as a lower bound boundary), Upper ChamberSG_DMK_PARLYP_UC: Proportion of youth in parliament (age 45 or below), Upper Chamber (%)SG_DMK_PARLYN_UC: Number of youth in parliament (age 45 or below), Upper Chamber (Number)Indicator 16.7.2: Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive, by sex, age, disability and population groupTarget 16.8: Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governanceIndicator 16.8.1: Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizationsSG_INT_MBRDEV: Proportion of members of developing countries in international organizations, by organization (%)SG_INT_VRTDEV: Proportion of voting rights of developing countries in international organizations, by organization (%)Target 16.9: By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registrationIndicator 16.9.1: Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by ageSG_REG_BRTH: Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority (% of children under 5 years of age)Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreementsIndicator 16.10.1: Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 monthsVC_VAW_MTUHRA: Number of cases of killings of human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionistsVC_VOC_ENFDIS: Number of cases of enforced disappearance of human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists (Number)Indicator 16.10.2: Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to informationSG_INF_ACCSS: Countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to informationTarget 16.a: Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crimeIndicator 16.a.1: Existence of independent national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris PrinciplesSG_NHR_IMPL: Proportion of