Teens - Date/Acquaintance Rape
ACQUAINTANCE RAPE
INFORMATION SHEET
Rape is one of the most violent criminal acts committed against women. It is motivated by a need to show power over or to express anger against another person. Sex is used as the weapon. Acquaintance rape is one form of rape that receives little, if any, attention. It is a form of sexual assault committed by someone we know: a friend, a relative, a date, an employer, or someone we have recently met. Regardless of whether the victim knows her attacker or not, rape is still a crime of violence that is punishable by law.
FACTS:
- Approximately 62% of female rape victims knew their attacker. (2000 NCVS)
- One out of every seven women is the victim of marital rape. (Ms. Magazine 1990)
- Of alleged gang rapes by college students, 55% were committed by fraternity members and 40% by school athletes. (O’Sullivan, C. (Ed.). “The Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girl,” The Commonwealth Fund, Commission on Women’s Health. 1997.)
- 38% of acquaintance rape victims are 14 – 17 years old. The average age of all adolescent and college victims is 18.5 years. (Warshaw, 1988)
- Fewer than 5% of sexually assault college students reported the crime to police. (Koss & Harvey, 1991)
- 57% of rapes happened on dates. (Warshaw, Robin. I Never Called It Rape: The Ms Report on Recognizing, Fighting and Surviving Date Acquaintance Rape. New York: Harper Perennial, 1994.)
The emotional effects of date or acquaintance rape have devastating effects that may last throughout the survivor’s lifetime. Some of these after-effects include:
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