For the roughly 72 million students enrolled in U.S. schools and colleges, sexual violence is a legitimate concern.
STATISTIC:
64% of sexual assault victims are ages 12-34.
RAINN fights alongside survivors and advocates to cultivate schools and college campuses that are free from sexual violence.
FACT:
If you experience sexual assault, it is never your fault, and you are not alone.
Help and support are available.
REACH OUT TO RAINN
How safe are students?
Even the most reputable educational institutions cannot guarantee 100% safety in the classroom or on campus. When kids, teens, and college students resume classes each fall, they enter a world rich with opportunity—and rife with risk.
Understanding what’s at stake is the first step toward making schools and campuses safer for all students.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER TITLE IX
Title IX enshrines key protections that help students stay in school after experiencing campus sexual violence.
LEARN THE LATEST
THE RED ZONE: COLLEGE STUDENTS
Studies show that sexual violence occurs more frequently on college campuses at certain times of the year. Anti-sexual violence experts call this high-risk period the Red Zone.
More than 50% of college sexual assaults occur in August, September, October, or November.
College students are at an increased risk during the first few months of their first and second semesters.
What would you do if your child called from college to tell you they’d been raped?
That’s exactly what one family experienced—and their journey to get justice took them halfway around the world.
READ DERRICK AND KAITLIN’S STORY
College Campus Sexual Violence Statistics
- 13% of all graduate and undergraduate students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.
- Among graduate and professional students, 9.7% of women and 2.5% of men experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.
- Among undergraduate students, 26.4% of women and 6.8% of men experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.
Transgender Students Are at Higher Risk for Sexual Violence
- 21% of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) college students have been sexually assaulted, compared to 18% of non-TGQN females, and 4% of non-TGQN males.
>>> SEE MORE CAMPUS ASSAULT STATISTICS
Do You Know the Warning Signs for College Students?
Whether you are a parent, professor, administrator, or student—you can make a difference in someone’s life by noticing the warning signs of sexual assault and abusive relationships.
LEARN THE SIGNS OF ASSAULT
K-12 STUDENTS
Students’ brains and bodies are growing and changing rapidly during the elementary, middle, and high school years. Perpetrators of sexual violence take advantage of minors’ vulnerabilities to commit criminal abuses.
Every 9 minutes, Child Protective Services (CPS) substantiates or finds evidence for a claim of child sexual abuse.
Nearly 93% of victims under the age of 18 know the abuser who exploited and harmed them.
Are students with disabilities more vulnerable?
Alarmingly little research has been done on the intersection of sexual violence with physical and cognitive differences. Yet many survivors with disabilities describe being targeted by predators precisely because of their challenges—like Saida:
READ SAIDA’S STORY
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Statistics
- 66% of all CSA victims are aged 12-17
- 34% of all CSA victims are under age 12
- 1 in 9 under-18 girls experiences sexual abuse or assault
- 1 in 20 under-18 boys experiences sexual abuse or assault
- 82% of all under-18 victims are female
- Females ages 16-19 are 4x more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault
>>> SEE MORE CSA STATISTICS
Would you know if your child or teen was being abused?
Minors victimized by sexual abusers may not display the symptoms you expect—but the impact is undeniable and long-lasting.
Survivors of child sexual abuse are 4x more likely to abuse substances, 4x more likely to experience PTSD as adults, and 3x more likely to endure major depressive episodes as adults.
LEARN THE WARNING SIGNS FOR TEENS
LEARN THE WARNING SIGNS FOR CHILDREN
GET INVOLVED
RAINN works year-round to co-create and endorse anti-sexual violence legislation. Explore RAINN’s recommendations for state and federal anti-sexual violence laws:
We ALL play a critical role in preventing sexual violence and standing alongside survivors in truth and strength.
School-age children and college-age adults deserve the knowledge and resources to stay safe—and to obtain meaningful help if they are victimized.
Crime and Justice Statistics
The statistics may shock you, but they’re all true—and they all represent deep suffering by real people in our families and communities.
The risk doesn’t just come from strangers lurking in the bushes, but from their peers on campus.
– KATHERINE HULL, RAINN
93% of Juvenile Victims Know the Perpetrator
- 59% were acquaintances
- 34% were family members
- 7% were strangers to the victim
Campus Law Enforcement Can Help
- 86% of sworn campus law enforcement officials have the legal authority to make an arrest outside of the campus grounds
- 72% of campus law enforcement agencies have a staff member responsible for survivor response and assistance
Most Sexual Assaults Are Not Reported to the Police
- More than 2 out of 3 sexual assaults never get reported
- Only 20% of female college students report to police
- Only 25 out of every 1,000 rapists end up in prison—that’s 2.5%
What happens when a survivor reports a crime of sexual violence?
Justice means something different to every survivor, and reporting a crime to law enforcement is an individual decision. The more you know about what to expect from the reporting and legal processes, the better equipped you’ll be to choose the right path for you.
LEARN: THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
SAFETY & PREVENTION
Statistics suggest that you or someone you know will be impacted by sexual violence during your lifetime.
Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.
While no one is immune to experiencing sexual violence, there are steps you can take that may help reduce your risk of being targeted by a predator.
REMEMBER: Nothing you do (or don’t do) can ever make you responsible for being assaulted. The only person responsible for sexual violence is the perpetrator.
Dealing with Deepfakes and Revenge Porn
Technology is behind some of today’s most insidious sexual crimes.
>>> READ: ONLINE AND AI-ASSISTED SEXUAL ABUSE
Take Action To Stay Safe on Campus
Get familiar with alcohol safety, bystander intervention, and more.
>>> READ: 10 CAMPUS SAFETY STRATEGIES
Help Tweens and Teens Stay Safe Online
Learn safety tips to help prevent online sexual abuse.
>>> READ RAINN’S ONLINE SAFETY TIPS
Tips for Parents, Educators, and Other Caregivers
Give students the tools to speak up when something isn’t right.
>>> EXPLORE RAINN’S RESOURCES
HOW TO SUPPORT SURVIVORS
Every survivor deserves unconditional support after disclosing a sexual assault. Saying something as simple as “I believe you” can profoundly impact a survivor's recovery process.
The TALK method is a good place to start:
Thank them for telling you
Ask how you can help
Listen without judgment
Keep supporting them
When the support system fails, how does a young survivor find help and healing?
This survivor faced devastating circumstances, but they never gave up striving for the life they’d always longed for.
READ KYLE’S STORY
Lean On Me: A Caregiver’s Guide
>>> TAKE THE FREE ONLINE COURSE
Tips for Talking with Survivors of Sexual Assault
>>> LEARN WHAT TO SAY
If you or someone you love has been sexually assaulted… what next?
After experiencing sexual assault, it’s normal to feel unsure of how to react. Knowing what steps to take following sexual violence can help ground you in an incredibly difficult time.
LEARN: AFTER SEXUAL ASSAULT
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you are not alone. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and en Español at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or online at hotline.RAINN.org.
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