By: Whitney Derman

In recent years, reports of Sexual Abuse seem to have gone down slightly. The question is, “Why?” Is less abuse happening, or is it just not being reported? Both factors come into play, but one is more prevalent. Sexual Abuse and harassment are taken much more seriously than in the past, with sexual harassment seminars often being required for school and work and consent being a large part of sex education. People have also been encouraged to speak about their experiences with movements like “Me Too.” Mostly in Western society, there is less shame surrounding individuals who have been in this situation. People are more likely to confide in friends or trusted individuals than in years past. But many cases of Sexual Abuse still go unreported.

Why Don’t People Report Sexual Abuse?

Although being vocal about abuse seems helpful, individuals who are affected may be less likely to report the issues for the following reasons:

1) If their friends are supportive about the situation, a person may not feel the need to seek legal help. If they are properly supported, they may be less likely to seek external help.

2) If their friends react badly (such as by not believing them), a person may be scared to report the abuse out of fear that the police will not believe them either.

Both of these situations make it less likely for people to report Sexual Abuse and harassment. Many other factors make reporting Sexual Abuse difficult. The reasons I never reported abuse or harassment were my friends did not believe me, a lack of evidence to prove it happened, unable to fight them off, and fear that reporting it would not be worth potentially ruining someone’s life. Many other people do not report abuse for some or all of these reasons.

False Accusations

As people have become more vocal about Sexual Abuse, there has been a lot of conversation about false accusations — while false accusations do happen, they are rare. Only 5% of sexual assault reports filed have been proven false (Kuadil, 2021). Focusing on false accusations can delegitimize what rape victims have been through, by making the potential perpetrator feel more protected than the potential victim. It is also harmful because evidence is rare to help back up these claims, so reports of sexual violence are often written off as false. The perpetrator could be a better speaker, peacemaker, or have a better lawyer. So, focusing on “false accusations” can cause legitimate cases to be thrown out and ignored.

It is also widely believed that if you do not physically fight the perpetrator off or yell, you must be enjoying it. This mentality is incredibly inaccurate. Victims often stay quiet and don’t fight back because they fear escalating the situation with an increase in potential physical violence. Unfortunately, lack of fighting back is often used to “prove” a fabricated sexual violence claim when it was not.

What Is Considered Sexual Abuse?

It is important to remember that unless enthusiastic consent is given, the act is Sexual Abuse, no matter how much or little one screams, cries, or fights their abuser. Being coerced into sex is still rape, and so is having a partner participate out of fear.

Often victims will convince themselves it was not a rape to cope or because they have low confidence and self-worth — this does not make those situations okay. I have personally used this logic before because it made me feel better than admitting I was in a bad situation. At the same time, this sends a message to rapists that what they are doing is okay. Having low self-esteem also greatly contributes to underreporting because victims often do not report the issue out of fear of ruining the abuser’s life and having more concern for their well-being. Sadly, this is not an uncommon thought for victims of sexual violence.

Another major reason people often do not report Sexual Abuse is due to mistrust in law enforcement. Police violence and brutality remain extremely high, and while turning to law enforcement can be intimidating for anyone, it is much scarier for people of color — and if their abuser is white, chances are the case will be dismissed. Someone going through a traumatic time will often try to avoid situations that will make them feel uncomfortable, and reporting someone to people you do not know can be a very stressful situation. It may feel as if you are exposing yourself and your own vulnerabilities to someone who is not a trusted friend or family member. This vulnerability can be scary especially when you were forced into an already compromising situation.

Finally, here are some extremely prominent statistics on Sexual Abuse in 2021:

• “Adolescents aged 14–17 were by far the most likely to be sexually victimized; nearly one in six (16.3%) was sexually victimized in the past year.”
• “In 2019, over 652,676 women were raped: This figure excludes non-rape sexual assaults but includes date rape statistics; if included, data from non-rape sexual assaults would take the figure closer to the one million mark. What’s worse, it has been rising for the last decade at an annual rate of 2.9%, and this trend shows no sign of decreasing.”
• “Sexual Abuse, as shown by rape and sexual assault statistics, has affected 41.8% of women in the US who have been victimized by sexual violence other than rape.”
• “Exactly 79.6% of female victims who have experienced one or more rape did so before the age of 25.”
• “According to Rainn statistics, outside of the correctional system, most rape victims are female. However, studies show that 21.4% of males in the US have been the victims of sexual violence and have experienced this outside of any prison facility.”
• “It is estimated that only 19% of rapes, completed or attempted, are reported annually. This figure runs consistently across the board. The general consensus is that rape is still considered something shameful, hence victim reluctance.”
• “Over 80% of sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance: Relatives, teachers, religious leaders, former spouses — unfortunately, the list of possible attackers is one of the people who will most often have a very intimate relationship with the victim. Statistics on rape indicate that this connection normally results in most rape victims shying away from reporting such incidents due to obligatory or emotional pressures.”
• “For every 1000 rapes in the US, 995 perpetrators will go unpunished: Studies covering unreported sexual assault statistics show that the overwhelming majority of perpetrators will escape punishment of any kind. US rape stats show that too many victims are afraid to follow through with the legalities of their claim, leading to perpetrators escaping punishment of any form” (Kuadli, 2021).

It should be clear now just how grossly underreported sexual violence and assault is. Here at ARO, we aim to give survivors of Sexual Abuse and other forms of abuse the strength and confidence to share their stories and provide survivors with relief within a strong community. If you would like to support us, please consider donating and learning more at our website.

Sources

Dole, B. (2021, November 19). Survey: Sexual violence pervasive, underreported on Umatilla Indian Reservation. The Bulletin. https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/crimeandjustice/survey-sexual-violence-pervasive-underreported-on-umatilla-indian-reservation/article_6a354a91-f135-5041-94e1-0b497aaed2a4.html.

Fisher, B., Cullen, F., & Turner, M. (2000). The sexual victimization of college women (NCJ 182369). National Criminal Justice Reference Service. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/182369.pdf.

Hanson, R. F., Resnick, H. S., Saunders, B. E., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Best, C. (1999). Factors related to the reporting of childhood rape. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23, 559–569. doi:10.1016/S0145–2134(99)00028–9.
Kuadli, J. (2021, October 22). 32 disheartening sexual assault statistics for 2021. Legal Jobs. https://legaljobs.io/blog/sexual-assault-statistics/.