Document Title: Drug-facilitated, Incapacitated, and Forcible Rape: A National Study

To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally-funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Having accurate information about the scope, nature, and consequences of rape in the United States is critically important. This information can help policymakers make well-informed decisions, and may be used to guide the development of rape prevention and intervention services. Data on rape from national samples are especially useful because they give some indication of the magnitude of the problem in the nation as a whole. We interviewed 5,000 U.S. women aged 18-86. Of these, 3,001 comprised a national sample representing all U.S. women and 2,000 comprised a national sample representing women currently attending U.S. colleges and universities. The existence of both samples allowed us to examine the distinct needs of women in both community-and university-based settings to identify resources that might uniquely benefit them. This report provides information addressing four key goals: • To identify how many women in the U.S. and in college settings have ever been raped or sexually assaulted during their lifetime and within the past year. This includes the number of women who have experienced rape that involves (a) force (i.e., forcible rape); (b) drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants deliberately given to the victim by the perpetrator (i.e., drug-facilitated rape); or (c) self-induced intoxication by the victim (i.e., incapacitated rape). • To identify key case characteristics of drug-facilitated and forcible rapes, including the percentage of cases that involve injury, involve strangers vs. known perpetrators, are reported to law enforcement, involve receipt of medical care, and enter the criminal justice system. • To examine factors that affect the willingness of women to report rape to law enforcement or seek help from their support network. • To make comparisons between the different types of rape with regard to (a) the numbers of women affected in the U.S. and college settings, (b) risk factors, (c) reporting to law enforcement, and (d) mental health consequences. Rape in America Our findings indicate that about 20 million out of 112 million women (18.0%) in the U.S. have ever been raped during their lifetime. This includes an estimated 18 million women who have been forcibly raped, nearly 3 million women who have experienced drug-facilitated rape, and 3 …