IWS Documented News DAILY POSTINGS

IWS Documented News Service

_______________________________

Institute for Workplace Studies-----------------Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor--------------------Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

________________________________________________________________________

This service is supported, in part, by donations. Please consider making a donation by following the instructions at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/iws/news-bureau/support.html

 

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)

 

RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT AMONG COLLEGE-AGE FEMALES, 1995-2013 [11 December 2014]

by Lynn Langton, Ph.D., Sofi Sinozich, BJS Intern

http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5176&utm_source=juststats-121114&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Rape%20and%20Sexual%20Assault%20Victimization%20Among%20College-Age%20Females,%201995?2013&utm_campaign=juststats

or

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsavcaf9513.pdf

[full-text, 20 pages]

 

Compares the characteristics of rape and sexual assault victimization against females ages 18 to 24 who are enrolled and not enrolled in college. This report examines the relationship between the victim and offender, the involvement of a weapon, location of the victimization, reporting to police, perceived offender characteristics, and victim demographics. Data are from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. The report also discusses methodological differences between the NCVS and other surveys that measure rape and sexual assault victimization and the impact of these difference on rape and sexual assault estimates.

 

Highlights:

 

·         The rate of rape and sexual assault was 1.2 times higher for nonstudents (7.6 per 1,000) than for students (6.1 per 1,000).

·         For both college students and nonstudents, the offender was known to the victim in about 80% of rape and sexual assault victimizations.

·         Most (51%) student rape and sexual assault victimizations occurred while the victim was pursuing leisure activities away from home, compared to nonstudents who were engaged in other activities at home (50%) when the victimization occurred.

·         The offender had a weapon in about 1 in 10 rape and sexual assault victimizations against both students and nonstudents.

·         Rape and sexual assault victimizations of students (80%) were more likely than nonstudent victimizations (67%) to go unreported to police.

 

Press Release 11 December 2014

RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT HIGHER AMONG COLLEGE-AGE NONSTUDENT FEMALES THAN FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS IN 1995–2013

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/rsavcaf9513pr.cfm

WASHINGTON – Among college-age females (ages 18 to 24), the rate of rape and sexual assault was 1.2 times higher for nonstudents than students for the period 1995–2013, the Bureau of Justice Statistics announced today. Nonstudents (65,700) accounted for more than double the average annual number of rape and sexual assault victimizations compared to students (31,300). For 2013, no differences in the rates of rape and sexual assault were found between the two groups.

Rape and sexual assault victimizations were more likely to go unreported to police among victims who were college students (80 percent) than nonstudents (67 percent). About a quarter of student (26 percent) and nonstudent (23 percent) victims who did not report to police believed the incident was a personal matter, and 1 in 5 (20 percent each) stated a fear of reprisal. Student victims (12 percent) were more likely than nonstudent victims (5 percent) to state that the incident was not important enough to report.

While college students experienced lower rates of rape and sexual assault than nonstudents in 1995–2013, their average annual rate was still consistently higher than females in other age brackets (ages 12 to 17 and 25 or older). A third (33 percent) of rape and sexual assault victimizations against female college students involved completed rape, compared to 40 percent of victimizations against nonstudents. The majority of student (56 percent) and nonstudent (52 percent) victims experienced attempted rape or other sexual assault.

This report uses data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to describe the nature of rape and sexual assault against college-age females ages 18 to 24. The NCVS is the only national source of data that compares rape and sexual assault victimization among college students (those enrolled in a college, university, trade school or vocational school) and nonstudents.

Other findings for the period 1995–2013 include—

• Among college students and nonstudents, the offender was known to the victim in about 80 percent of rape and sexual assault victimizations.
• Nonstudents (34 percent) were more likely than students (24 percent) to experience rape or sexual assault committed by an intimate partner. Among female student victims, half of victimizations were committed by friends or acquaintances.
• For both students and nonstudents, about 70 percent of rape and sexual assault victimizations occurred either at the victim’s home or the home of another known person.
• No statistically significant difference was detected in the percentage of student (47 percent) and nonstudent (40 percent) victims who perceived that the offender was drinking or using drugs.
• Fewer than 1 in 5 female student (16 percent) and nonstudent (18 percent) victims of rape and sexual assault received assistance from a victim services agency.
• Among females living in rural areas, the rate of rape and sexual assault was almost 2 times higher for nonstudents (8.8 per 1,000) than students (4.6 per 1,000).

The report, Rape and Sexual Assault Among College-Age Females, 1995–2013 (NCJ 248471), was written by Sofi Sinozich, BJS Intern, and Lynn Langton, BJS Statistician. The report, related documents and additional information about the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ statistical publications and programs can be found on the BJS website at http://www.bjs.gov/.

# # #

 

 

________________________________________________________________________

This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.