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Date and Acquaintance Rape
It is a commonly believed myth that a typical sexual assault is perpetrated by a stranger, in a dark ally, with a weapon. The majority of sex crimes are actually perpetrated by someone who the survivor knows and trusts. Most often a friend, family member (see incest), or intimate partner, these crimes do not necessarily involve a physical weapon.
What we strive to make people understand is that emotional and mental coercion is a very powerful weapon. Sadly, it is frequently true that survivors of date or acquaintance rape blame themselves even more than stranger assault survivors. It is also critical to understand that many people in domestically abusive relationships also experience sexual violence perpetrated by their partner.
Approximately 22% of victims are raped by intimates such as husbands or boyfriends, 47% by acquaintances, and 2% by other relatives. (Criminal Victimization in 1999: Changes 1998-1999, with trends 1993-1999. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. August, 2000).
Between one in seven and one in ten married women will experience a rape by her husband. (Mahoney, P. and Williams, L. Sexual Assault in Marriage - Prevalence, Consequences, and Treatment of Wife Rape. Partner Violence - A Comprehensive Review of 20 years of Research. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. 1998).
7.7% of surveyed women and 0.3% of surveyed men reported being raped by a current or former intimate partner at some time in their lifetime. (Tjaden, P., Thoennes, N. Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence. National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. July, 2000).
Only 18% of women, who were sexually assaulted by a partner, reported the incident to police. (Many Women Do Not Report Sexual Assault by Partner. Annals of Emergency Medicine Vol. 36. Reuters News Service, 2000).