Crime Victims

Though women are victimized by crime much less than men, the character of their victimization is quite different and generates much more fear. Men may have a 42 percent greater chance of becoming crime victims overall, but women experience the violent crimes of rape and sexual assault much more. Statistics indicate some five million women and girls over the age of twelve are victims of violent crime in the United States every year. One out of every six women is a victim of rape or attempted rape at some point in their lives. Some 870,000 rapes occur every year. Women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four are more likely to be raped, with most raped prior to eighteen years of age.

Crimes against women are usually committed by a person they know well—a spouse or former spouse, boyfriend, family member, or friend. These attacks are the hardest to live with due to the personal nature of the crime. Only 16 percent of rapes are committed by strangers; over 30 percent of murders are committed by someone with whom the victim had a close relationship. The same pattern of familiarity follows in other crimes. Between 20 and 50 percent of women experience domestic abuse at least once in their lives. Statistics show that if a woman tries to leave an abusive relationship, it often turns more violent.

Studies have also shown women live with a greater fear of crime, especially rape. As a result, victim legislation often singles out female victims. In 1994 Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) providing federal funding for victim assistance programs directed toward female victims of rape, stalking, domestic abuse, and sexual assault. In 1998 VAWA provided $172 million to women's programs.