HALF OF WOMEN RAPED DURING 1992 WERE YOUNGER THAN 18 YEARS OLD U.S. Department of Justice ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EST BJS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1994 202-307-0784 HALF OF WOMEN RAPED DURING 1992 WERE YOUNGER THAN 18 YEARS OLD WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Half of the women who reported they had been raped during 1992 were juveniles under 18 years old, and 16 percent were younger than 12, according to a Department of Justice study released today of 11 states and Washington, D.C. A separate study in 1991 in three states found that 96 percent of the female rape victims younger than 12 years old knew their attackers. Twenty percent were victimized by their fathers. The figures were compiled by the Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The information from 11 states and the District of Columbia was from police data and accounted for 20 percent of the 109,000 rapes of females that were reported to law enforcement agencies during 1992. BJS said this was the first multi-state study that documents the high frequency of child rape. "We have long known that many rape victims were young," commented Acting BJS Director Lawrence A. Greenfeld. "However, the new data tell us for the first time just how young some victims are and who their attackers were." BJS said that nationwide 17,000 girls under the age of 12 were raped during 1992 but pointed out that this is a conservative estimate, because it included only reported rapes. The young rape victims as percentages of the total number of women raped during 1992 in 14 states and the District of Columbia were as follows: State Rape Victims Younger Than Percentage of State Total Alabama 15 years old 24% Arkansas 14 24 Delaware 10 22 Dist. of Columbia 16 22 Florida 18 46 Idaho 16 24 Kansas 15 12 Michigan 10 25 Nebraska 16 31 North Carolina 16 20 North Dakota 11 25 Pennsylvania 15 25 Rhode Island 14 49 South Carolina 17 40 Wisconsin 15 22 In the 1991 study in three states--Alabama, North Dakota and South Carolina--police investigators determined that only 4 percent of the rape victims younger than 12 years old were attacked by strangers during 1991. All the other assailants were either family members (46 percent) or acquaintances or friends (50 percent). Twenty percent were raped by their fathers. Among 12- to 17-year-old victims, 20 percent were raped by family members, 65 percent by an acquaintance or friend and 15 percent by a stranger. Among those 18 years old or older, 12 percent were raped by a family member, 55 percent by an acquaintance or friend and 33 percent by a stranger. A 1991 BJS survey of state prisoners confined for child rape (the rape of girls under 12) revealed that 94 percent of the offenders said their victim was either a family member, acquaintance or friend, an estimate almost identical to that found in the 1991 law enforcement data from the three states. Single copies of the BJS Crime Data Brief, "Child Rape Victims, 1992" (NCJ-147001), as well as other BJS statistical reports may be obtained from the BJS Clearinghouse, Box 179, Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20701-0179. The telephone number is 1-800-732-3277. Fax orders to 410-792-4358. 94-81 After hours contact: Stu Smith 301-983-9354U.S. Department of Justice ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EST BJS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1994 202-307-0784 HALF OF WOMEN RAPED DURING 1992 WERE YOUNGER THAN 18 YEARS OLD WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Half of the women who reported they had been raped during 1992 were juveniles under 18 years old, and 16 percent were younger than 12, according to a Department of Justice study released today of 11 states and Washington, D.C. A separate study in 1991 in three states found that 96 percent of the female rape victims younger than 12 years old knew their attackers. Twenty percent were victimized by their fathers. The figures were compiled by the Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The information from 11 states and the District of Columbia was from police data and accounted for 20 percent of the 109,000 rapes of females that were reported to law enforcement agencies during 1992. BJS said this was the first multi-state study that documents the high frequency of child rape. "We have long known that many rape victims were young," commented Acting BJS Director Lawrence A. Greenfeld. "However, the new data tell us for the first time just how young some victims are and who their attackers were." BJS said that nationwide 17,000 girls under the age of 12 were raped during 1992 but pointed out that this is a conservative estimate, because it included only reported rapes. The young rape victims as percentages of the total number of women raped during 1992 in 14 states and the District of Columbia were as follows: State Rape Victims Younger Than Percentage of State Total Alabama 15 years old 24% Arkansas 14 24 Delaware 10 22 Dist. of Columbia 16 22 Florida 18 46 Idaho 16 24 Kansas 15 12 Michigan 10 25 Nebraska 16 31 North Carolina 16 20 North Dakota 11 25 Pennsylvania 15 25 Rhode Island 14 49 South Carolina 17 40 Wisconsin 15 22 In the 1991 study in three states--Alabama, North Dakota and South Carolina--police investigators determined that only 4 percent of the rape victims younger than 12 years old were attacked by strangers during 1991. All the other assailants were either family members (46 percent) or acquaintances or friends (50 percent). Twenty percent were raped by their fathers. Among 12- to 17-year-old victims, 20 percent were raped by family members, 65 percent by an acquaintance or friend and 15 percent by a stranger. Among those 18 years old or older, 12 percent were raped by a family member, 55 percent by an acquaintance or friend and 33 percent by a stranger. A 1991 BJS survey of state prisoners confined for child rape (the rape of girls under 12) revealed that 94 percent of the offenders said their victim was either a family member, acquaintance or friend, an estimate almost identical to that found in the 1991 law enforcement data from the three states. Single copies of the BJS Crime Data Brief, "Child Rape Victims, 1992" (NCJ-147001), as well as other BJS statistical reports may be obtained from the BJS Clearinghouse, Box 179, Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20701-0179. The telephone number is 1-800-732-3277. Fax orders to 410-792-4358. 94-81 After hours contact: Stu Smith 301-983-9354 ----------- Owning Topic : T=BJS Press Releases - 93 E= 374 Type = e