According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, which estimates victimization based on household and individual surveys, there were over 2.1 million violent crimes committed against females aged 12 and older in the United States in 2005;¹ these crimes included rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. In 1993, the rate of violent victimization among males was 59.8 per 1,000 population and the rate among females was 40.7 per 1,000. Those rates had dropped to 25.5 and 17.1 per 1,000, respectively, in 2005. This follows the downward trend in violent crime victimization rates over the past decade.

Females are more likely than males to be victims of rape and sexual assault, while males are more likely to be victims of robbery and assault. For all types of violent crime, women are more likely than men to know the offender. Among all rape and sexual assault cases in 2005, 73 percent of women were attacked by someone that they knew, either an intimate partner (28 percent), other relative (7 percent), or friend/acquaintance (38 percent). Another 26 percent were attacked by a stranger, while the victim/offender relationship in the remaining cases was not determined. Similarly, female victims of 50 percent of robberies, 62 percent of aggravated assaults, and 66 percent of simple assaults knew their assailant.

1 These estimates are based on household and individual surveys that are intended to capture all incidents regardless of whether or not they were reported to law enforcement.

> LINE CHART: Violent Crime Victimization Rates Among People Aged 12 and Older, by Sex of Victim, 1993-2005

> VERTICAL BAR CHART: Victim and Offender Relationship, Females Aged 12 and Older Who Were Victims of Violent Crime, 2005