One in five American women 'has been raped'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.More than one in five women questioned for a US survey reported having been raped. Nearly a third of all women said they had experienced episodes of sexual assault, physical violence or stalking at the hands of an intimate partner.
The study, compiled by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, offers a disturbing glimpse into the private lives of women in America, particularly to abuse within a relationship that often goes unreported.
Victims of rape or other forms of physical violence were also more likely to suffer mental ailments as a consequence of the attacks, it said.
For the survey data was collected in 2010 from phone interviews with 16,500 adult Americans. Results indicated that some 12 million Americans may have been victims of rape, stalking or physical violence – 24 victims of these violations in the US every minute.
For most women the assaults come when they are still young. The CDC reported that 80 per cent of rape victims said they were targeted before the age of 25.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments