Who Commits Sexual Assaults?

Sexual assaults happen everyday.  Every 107 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted, and that amounts to 293,000 sexual assaults per year (RAINN).  Who are committing these sexual assaults though?  Well, according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), approximately 4/5 victims are sexually assaulted by someone they know.  To be more specific, 82% are committed by a non-stranger, 47% of rapists are a friend or acquaintance, 25% are intimate, and 5% are a relative (RAINN).  While this statistic is overwhelmingly large, only about 3% of men actually commit the assault.  Not only that, but approximately 98% of sexual assaults are committed by repeat offenders.  This means that the 3% population is committing 98% of sexual assaults.

Sexual Assault is a big problem among college campuses as well as in the the rest of the country.  In fact, it is more prevalent on college campuses.  One in four college women report that they have survived rape or attempted rape at least once in their college career.  How do these assaults happen?  Statistics show that women is sororities are 74% more likely to experience sexual assault on campuses. That and “frequent, heavy episodic drinking increases college women’s chances of experiencing rape by eight-fold” (One in Four).

Why do these sexual assaults occur?  The men who committ most of the sexual assualts have a prior history of violent activity, or a history of an abusive household.  How can we prevent these sexual assaults from happening?  Well, bystanders can play a big role in sexual assault prevention.  “The presence of a bystander makes a completed rape 44% less likely” (One in Four).  Also, most of the time, the sexual assault occurs while the female is intoxicated.  So report, or intervene if you believe a situation like a sexual assault is possible.  Prevention is on the bystander.