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.
>
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
|