Almost 20% of women raped; close to 40% victimized

A study looking at the prevalence of sexual assault among women between 18 and 30 found that 38% had experienced victimization and almost 50% of that group had been raped, claims the Research Institute on Addictions at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.).

"Nearly half of the women reporting victimization [said] that they were raped, either due to physical force or because they were too incapacitated to resist," notes Maria Testa, lead researcher on the study and adjunct associate professor in the School of Social Work and research associate professor in the Department of Psychology. "Other types of sexual victimization reported included verbally coerced intercourse, attempted rape, and unwanted sexual contact."

Testa adds, "We know that women who have experienced victimization are at greater risk of it happening again. We are examining how prior risky behaviors play a role in multiple occurrences. We also want to know if women start drinking or exhibit risky behaviors in response to the victimization."

Sixty percent of the women in the study reported experiencing no sexual aggression. Subjects, who were chosen randomly, were asked to report on sexual aggression experiences that occurred since age 14.

Women who reported one or more incidents of sexual aggression were asked a series of questions about the most recent incident, including how it came about, who perpetrated it, how they responded, and how traumatic the incident was, both when it occurred as well as at the present time. Women were asked to respond on a six-point scale ranging from one for "not at all traumatic" to six for "the most traumatic thing possible." Trauma was higher immediately afterwards (4.09) compared to present time (2.84). At the time of the interview, rape was rated as more traumatic than other types of sexual aggression.

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