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1 Patsy A. Klaus & Marshall De Berry, The Crime of Rape 1 (1985)

handle is hein.death/cmrp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin The Crime of Rape Women of all ages, races, and income levels are victims of rape. They are more likely, however, to be young and unmarried. They are disproportionately from low-income families. Rapists usually operate alone; most of them are unarmed. The offender is usually a stranger to the victim. Most rape assaults occur at night. Most are attempts rather than completed rapes. This profile of rape emerges from an examination of all the cases of female rape and attempted rape re- ported in the National Cr me Survey (NCS) from 1973 to 1982. During this 10-year period dramatic changes occur- red in public awareness and attitudes concerning the crime of rape. Rape crisis centers were developed to help victims deal with the aftermath of this crime. The police as well as other parts of the criminal justice system became increasingly aware of the importance of handling victims sensi- tively. Special procedures and pro- grams for rape victims were developed in many police departments. The focus of public attention on rape has helped to lessen the stigma victims often feel. Still, rape and attempted rape both remain serious crimes that have a traumatic effect on victims for months or even years after the event. Rape and attempted rape, for all their fearsome and brutal aspects, are relatively rare crimes compared with other violent crimes such as robbery or assault, accounting for about 3% of all violent crimes. In 1983 an estimated iThe National Crime Survey collects information on rape for both males and females. About 84 cases with male victims were reported between 1973 and 1982, producing a national estimate of 123,000 rapes or attempted rapes, or 0.15 for every 1,000 males. 154,000 rapes and attempted rapes occurred, or roughly 1 for every 6Y0 females 12 years of age and over. The relative infrequency of rape makes it difficult to collect enough information to analyze many aspects of the crime in detail. In the course of twice-a-year interviews conducted with more than 125,000 people each year in the National Crime Survey, only about 100 casesof rape or attempted rape are reported. When the sample is com- 2Al statistics in this report are for persons 12 years of age and older. 3Statistics on rape reported to the police are published annually by the FBI in the Uniform Crime Reports, Crime in the U.S. For a comparison of BJS and FEI crime statistics see Measuring Crime, BJS Bulletin, 2/81, NCJ-75710. pared to the size of the general population, it is estimated that each reported incident represents about 1,200 rapes or rape attempts that took place across the country. Nevertheless, 100 cases are too few for detailed statistical analysis. To obtain enough information for a detailed examination of the crime of rape, all cases of female rape reported in the National Crime Survey from 1973 through 1982 were aggregated into a single data set. The set consists of 1,082 cases representing a national total of 1.5 million instances of rape or attempted rape during the decade (table 1). Measurement The social stigma traditionally attached to rape makes the experience difficult for many victims to discuss. Only about half of the victims of rape or attempted rape surveyed during the decade stated that the crime had been reported to the police. As might be expected, the rate was somewhat lower March 1985 The National Crime Survey esti- mates that during the 10-year period, 1973-82, there were about 1.5 million rapes or attempted rapes in the United States. This bulletin presents the first in- depth study of those crimes. Using data compiled from 10 years of the National Crime Sur- vey, the study presents detailed characteristics of the crime of rape, such as its setting, the relationship between victim and offender, the likelihood of injury, and the reasons rape is not re- ported to the police. Rape is a brutal and terrifying crime. It is especially important that our understanding of this crime is based on reliable information. Steven R. Schlesinger Director Table 1. Total crime, violent crime, and rape, 1973-82 Number Annual of rate per victim- 1,000 izations population Total crime 395,172,000 Total violent crime 59,050,000 Total rape 1,634,000 0.93 Male victims 123,000 0.15 Female victims: 1,511,000 1.65 of attempted rapes 1,032,000 1.13 ofcompleted rapes 479,000 0.52 Note: Victimization rates for males are based on male population only; victimization rates for females are based on female population only. 0

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