A government study has revealed that nearly one in five women in the United States have been raped or faced an attempted rape at least once in their lives.
Over half of the rape victims identified by the Justice and Health and Human Services departments reported that they were under the age of 17 when they were first raped. Half also reported being physically assaulted at least once in their lives.
“Each number in this survey represents our daughters, our mothers, and our neighbors,” HHS Secretary Donna Shalala stated. “We must recognize violence against women as a significant social problem.”
Equal numbers of men and women (8000 of each), were interviewed for the survey. Three of every four women who reported that they had been assaulted as adults identified their rapist as a current or former husband, a co-habitating partner, or a date.
