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Women annually reported about 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults (for 1992 and 1993), with friends or acquaintances committing over half of these crimes, and strangers responsible for about one in five rapes and sexual assaults. (Ronet Bachman, Ph.D. and Linda E. Saltzman, Ph.D., 1995, "Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey," National Crime Victimization Survey, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.)

Women were about six times more likely than men to experience violence committed by an intimate. (Ibid.)

The average sentence for criminals convicted of rape in the United States (and released in 1992) is 117 months. The average time served is 65 months, which equates to 56 percent of the actual sentence served. For crimes of sexual assault, the average sentence is 72 months, and the average time served is 35 months, equating to 49 percent of time served. (Greenfeld, Lawrence A., 1995, "Prison Sentences and Time Served for Violence," page 1, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.)

As of the end of 1994, 40 states provide for the registration of sex offenders. Most states impose the registration requirement on an offender at the time he or she is released on parole or probation, and the requirement usually continues for the duration of the parole or probation period, or for an average of 10 years. (National Victim Center, 1995, "Community Notification of the Release of Sex Offenders," page 1, Arlington, VA)

Every single minute in America, there are 1.3 forcible rapes of adult women; 78 women are forcibly raped each hour. Every day in America, 1,871 women are forcibly raped, equating to 56,916 forcible rapes every month. Every year in our country, 683,000 American women are forcible raped. (Kilpatrick, D., C. Edmunds, A. Seymour, April 1992, "Rape in America: A Report to the Nation, " from "The National Women's Study" sponsored by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, National Victim Center and National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, Washdington, D.C.)

Thirteen percent of adult American women (or at least 12.1 million) have been victims of at least one forcible rape in their lifetime. (Ibid.)

More than six out of ten of all rape cases (61 percent) occurred before victims reached the age of eighteen. (Ibid.)

Only 16 percent of rapes are ever reported to police. Most cases were reported within 24 hours after the rape. However, a substantial minority (25 percent) was reported more than 24 hours after the rape. (Ibid.)

Rape has a devastating impact on the mental health of victims, with nearly one-third of all rape victims (31 percent) developing Rape-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (RR-PTSD) in their lifetimes. (Ibid.)

Rape-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (RR-PTSD) dramatically increases American women's risk for major alcohol and other drug abuse problems. Compared to women who have never been raped, rape victims with RR-PTSD were 13 times more likely to have two or more major alcohol problems (20.1 percent vs. 1.5 percent), and 26 times more likely to have two or more major drug abuse problems (7.8 percent vs. 0.3 percent). (Ibid.)

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