Sexual violence is any act – physical, verbal, or emotional – where sex is used as a weapon.  Sexual violence is any unwanted sexual attention, sexual contact or sexual activity, and can take place through a wide range of acts, from intimidation, to touching, to penetration.  Sexual violence occurs if someone is forced, pressured, coerced, threatened or manipulated into sexual acts or activity against their will.

What does it look like?

Sexual violence takes many different forms.  A few examples include:

• verbal harassment
• voyeurism
• stalking
• unwanted touching
• sexual assault
• sexual abuse
• rape
• sexual homicide
• being forced to engage in a sexual act or activity
• being forced to watch pornography or other material of a sexual nature
• being forced to create pornographic images

Sexual violence includes committing any of these acts with a person who is unable for any reason to consent or refuse.  For example, if a person is intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, she is unable to consent or refuse sexual activity. 

The Scope of Sexual Violence in Vermont

• 1 in 7 adult Vermont women is estimated to be the victim of forcible rape during her lifetime.[1]

• 21 is the the average age of victims of incidents of rape that were reported to Vermont police.  Half of these victims were under 18 years of age.[2]

• In 2006, member programs of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence served 1,514 victims/survivors of sexual violence throughout the state; 293 were children and youth under the age of 18. [3]    

• Only 298 sexual offenses were reported to Vermont law enforcement in 2005. [4]

• In the year 2005, there were 166 forcible rapes reported to law enforcement in the State of Vermont. [5]

• In 99% of rape incidents reported to Vermont police, the victim and accused knew each other, and in 25% of these cases, the victim and accused were either family members or intimate partners.[6]

....and in the U.S.

Sexual Violence happens frequently.

• Every 5 minutes:  a rape is reported in the U.S.[7]
• Every 2 minutes:  a rape occurs in the U.S.[8]

Sexual Violence is severely underreported.

• 80% of all rapes
• 75% of all physical assaults
• 50% of all stalking incidents against women

are not reported to the police.[9]

Sexual Violence can happen to anyone, but women are more often victimized.

• 1 in 6U.S. women
• 1 in 33U.S. men

has experienced an attempted or completed rape as a child and/or adult.[10]

Younger women are at greater risk.

For U.S. women who report having been raped at some time during their lives:

•  22% were under 12 years of age when they were first raped;
• 32% were between 12 and 17 years of age when they were first raped;
• 29% were between 18 and 24 years of age when they were first raped; and
• 17% were 25 years of age or older.[11]

The vast majority of sexual violence acts are committed by family members, friends, acquaintances, and people known to the victim

•  76% of women who were raped or physically assaulted since the age of 18 were assaulted by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner or date
• 17% were victimized by an acquaintance, such as a friend, neighbor, or co-worker
• 9% were victimized by a relative other than a husband
• 14% were victimized by a stranger[12]

[1] Rape in Vermont: a Report to the State, Kilpatrick and Ruggiero, 2003

[2] 2004 Vermont Crime Report.

[3] 2006 Vermont Network Annual Report