September, 2006

The Bureau of Justice Statistics, a division of the US Department of Justice that collects and interprets data related to violent and property crimes, releases an annual report regarding crime rates in the United States. This report, the National Crime Victimization Survey, has reported a steady decrease in violent crime over the past ten years. According to the most recently released survey (for 2004) the overall rate of violent crime has fallen 57% during the past decade. (US Dept. of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey. Publication No. JCJ 210674. Retrieved September 1, 2006 from US Dept. of Justice website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/).

This startling statistic includes a significant decrease in the rate of rape and sexual assault. These crimes have experienced a reported 64% drop between the years of 1995 and 2004 (BJS, 2004). However, there were still 209,880 rapes and sexual assaults reported in the survey, which is 209,880 too many.

Other interesting trends were highlighted in the report. For example, for women victims, rape was most likely to be committed by a friend or acquaintance (67%), but was not likely to involve a weapon (only 8% of survey respondents reported that their perpetrator carried or brandished a weapon). The most vulnerable age group for rape and sexual assault continues to be the ages between 16 and 24. And of the rapes committed by an offender of any relationship to the victim, only 36% were reported to authorities (BJS, 2004).

We believe that this final statistic is one that we can assist in impacting. We have watched the changes in the criminal justice system over the past 20 years and have been encouraged by the general trend toward compassionate treatment of victims of sexual violence. However, these changes are painted in broad brush strokes and are by no means the norm in all jurisdictions. There are still police departments in large cites and small towns alike that subscribe to an antiquated and negative view of sexual crimes and their victims. The more rapes and sexual assaults that are reported to police and the more attention that is placed on the professional and compassionate treatment of victims of sexual violence, the more that police policy and investigative procedures will be forced to change.

Reporting a sexual assault to police is one of the first major decisions facing a rape victim after their assault. We support survivors in any decision they make in regards to reporting. We acknowledge that it is important for victims to regain their power and sense of control over their life as soon as possible, and assisting in the identification and prosecution of their rapist can be a significant step toward that goal. We obviously also believe that the more rapists we can put behind bars where they belong, the better. However, rape victims are not responsible for the crimes committed against them; thus they are not solely responsible for the prosecution of the offenders. It takes not only victims standing up and demanding better treatment, it takes society at large putting pressure on the justice system, demanding the harshest punishment for sexual offenders, and voting into office officials that are committed to eliminating sexual violence in order to affect the necessary changes.

Statistics are merely numbers, and surveys are naturally limited by many factors. These factors can include everything from the size of the “representative sample” and the methods of data collection. Surveys don’t take into account the myriad of factors that impact the lives of crime victims and the reporting of sexual violence. In addition, statistics can’t measure the impact that such crime has on its victims. Survivor2survivor.org encourages you to view the entire report for yourself by going to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cv04.htm, and to draw your own conclusions.