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Local Statistics about Sexual Assault

Local Statistics


Please note: These statistics were collected by law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Please be cautioned against drawing conclusions by making direct comparisons between cities. Comparisons lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading observation affecting communities and their residents.

Ohio:

  • 1 out of 7 women, or nearly 635,000 women in Ohio, has been a survivor of forcible rape sometime in her lifetime.1
  • Rape is the most underreported crime.
  • Ohio is in a region of the nation that has a higher-than-average rape prevalence.1
  • 30% of rape victims experienced major depression at some time in their lives, (about 90,000 victims in Ohio) and 10% of women never victimized by violent crime.1
  • Women between the ages of 20-44 had the highest levels of risk for having ever been raped (over 15 percent), whereas women ages 65 and older had the lowest levels of risk (less than 5 percent).1
  • Out of Ohio’s population of 11,485,910, there were a total of 4,419 reported forcible rape cases in 2008.6 (This includes only females over 12 years old.)

Cuyahoga County:

  • Of the 565,000 women living in Cuyahoga County, over 80,000 have been raped.1
  • In 2007, there were 516 reported rapes, accounting for 39 percent of all reported crimes in Cuyahoga County.2
  • Approximately 600 sexual assault cases were seen at reporting hospitals in Cuyahoga County.3
  • An estimated 11 percent of the population of Cuyahoga County (or 149,274 people) have been raped some time in their lives and are in need of healing services. 4
  • Additionally, 1,600 sexual assault referrals were received by the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services in 2008. 8

Cleveland:

  • 1,366 sexual assault and child endangerment cases were reported to Cleveland Police.3
  • Cleveland Rape Crisis Center receives about 3,000 calls per year on its 24-hour crisis hotline.5
  • Out of Cleveland’s population of 433,452, there were 423 reported cases of forcible rape in 2008.6 (This includes only females over 12 years old.)
  • Even though the Ohio rate of rape decreased in 2008, the rate of rapes in Cleveland increased by 14.8 percent. 7
  • 60 percent of sexual assaults are unreported. This indicates that the number of rapes that occurred in Cleveland in 2008 was possibly as high as 3,165. 8

Resources

  1. One in Seven. Rape in Ohio – A Report to the State. National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center. Kenneth J. Ruggiero, Dean G. Kilpatrick. May 2003. http://www.ppao.org/files/Resources/1in7study.pdf\
  2. Cuyahoga Crime Statistics Ohio. 2007. http://www.criminal.com/statistics/ohio/cuyahoga.htm
  3. Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Response Team. 2009.
  4. United Way of Greater Cleveland. Core Services Report. 2007.
  5. Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. http://www.clevelandrapecrisis.org/education/statistics.asp
  6. Crime in the United States. 2008. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_08.html
  7. Special Commission on Missing Persons & Sex Crime Investigations. City of Cleveland Ohio, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, VOYRS. 2010.