Government Survey Finds That One of Every Six American Women Have Been Raped

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control Prevention in Atlanta has found that 18.3 percent of all American women report having been raped during their lifetime. Thus, there are approximately 21.8 million American women who have been raped.

The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey found that 29.2 percent of all women in Alaska reported having been raped. Oregon had the second highest percentage at 27.2. The lowest rate was in the state of Virginia where 11.4 percent of all women reported having been raped at one point during their lifetime.

The survey also asked women about sexual violence other than rape. More than 44 percent of all women reported that they had been victims of some type of sexual violence other than rape. Once again, the highest rate was in Alaska. In Oregon, New Hampshire, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington, more than half of all women reported being victims of sexual violence. The lowest rate was in Louisiana where 29 percent of all women said they had been victims over the course of their lifetime.

The data can be accessed here.