Sexual Assault Statistics

The following information is from the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA) and End Abuse Wisconsin unless noted otherwise

Sexual Assault & Child Sexual Abuse Statistics

Approximately 40% of survivors report the assault to the police. There are many factors that play into why someone may or may not report.
- Out of 1,ooo rapes, 994 predators will walk free.

More than half of female victims of rape report being raped by an intimate partner
- 40.8% report being raped by an acquaintance
- For male victims, more than half reported being raped by an acquaintance; 15.1% report being raped by a stranger. (National Sexual Violence Resource Center)

Approximately 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime.
- Sexual violence is a significant public health problem impacting nearly a million people in Wisconsin. It is estimated that 1 in 7 Wisconsin women are raped during their lives –

11 to 15 year olds had the highest rate of victimization while 16 to 20 year olds had the highest rate of offending

28% of male victims reported they were first raped when they were 10 years or younger

LGBQ+ individuals experience higher rates of sexual violence then their heterosexual counterparts

Domestic and Dating Abuse

1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men aged 18 and older in the United States have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. (The National Domestic Violence Hotline)

1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point where they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed. (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)

Americans who experience stalking are at least 200 times more likely to be murdered than Americans who are not stalked. The true magnitude of this increased risk is likely higher due to data limitations–i.e. underreporting. (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)

As of 2018 in Wisconsin, at least 37% of the victims of intimate partner homicide were killed after the relationship ended or when one person in the relationship was taking steps to end the relationship. (End Abuse Wisconsin’s 2018 Homicide Report)
- About 54% of the homicide incidents happened in rural communities and about 46% occurred in urban areas.

The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%. (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- As of 2018 in Wisconsin, firearms were the weapons used in 65% of domestic violence homicide incidents, excluding the homicide by legal intervention. In at least seven of the 24 domestic violence shooting deaths in 2018, the gunmen were legally prohibited from possessing firearms. (End Abuse Wisconsin’s 2018 Homicide Report)

Nearly half of all women and men in the United States have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime (The National Domestic Violence Hotline)

Most female victims of intimate partner violence were previously victimized by the same offender, including:
- 77% of females ages 18 to 24
- 76% of females ages 25 to 34
- 81% of females ages 35 to 49 (The National Domestic Violence Hotline

30 to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household. (The National Domestic Violence Hotline)

1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year; 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence. (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)

One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner. This figure far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence. (Love Is Respect)

Only 33% of teens who were in a violent relationship ever told anyone about the abuse. (Love Is Respect)

76.1% of physical abuse toward older adults is perpetrated by a family member. (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)