The Sexual Assault Crisis Extends to All Young Women, Not Just College Students

The issue of sexual assault on college campuses has received a great deal of public attention in recent months. But a new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics finds that the problem is even more widespread among women of college age who are not enrolled in higher education. The data shows that during the 1995-to-2013 period, an average of 7.6 of every 1,000 women ages 18 to 24 who were not enrolled in college were raped in a particular year. For college students, a average of 6.1 of every 1,000 young women were raped in a particular year. For women ages 18 to 24, there were more than twice as many victims of rape among nonstudents than students.

The report also found that only 20 percent of women enrolled in college who were raped reported the crime to police. For nonstudents, 32 percent reported the crime to police. Only 16 percent of college women who had been raped received assistance from a victim service agency, compared to 18 percent of nonstudents who were raped.

The report, Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, 1995–2013, may be downloaded by clicking here.