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Violence

I am a fifteen-year-old sophomore doing research on rape as a topic for a school project. I am interested in any other information you could offer concerning this subject. Thank You, Andi

Thanks for your note to Feminist.com--and for taking the time to "educate" your sophomore class on the topic of rape. In an ideal world, I wish we could spend our school projects on more celebratory things, but given the prevalence of things such as rape this is where we should be putting our energies. Education is the first step toward positive results and empowerment, so thanks for encourage other steps. That said, here are some things you should know:

"Somewhere in America a woman or girl is raped every 2 minutes." by National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice, 1996.

"In 1995, 354,670 women were victims of rape or sexual assault." by National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice, 1996.

"Approximately 28% of victims are raped by their husbands or boyfriends, 35% by acquaintances, and 5% by other relatives." by Violence Against Women Bureau, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

"The FBI estimates that only 37% of rapes are reported to the police."

"A majority of rape service agencies believe that public education about rape and expanded counseling and advocacy services for rape victims would be effective in increasing the willingness of victims to report rapes to the police."

"One of every four reported rapes takes place in a public area or in a parking garage."

Organizations to contact for more information:

Books you could reference:

  • Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape by Susan Brownmiller (Bantam Books, NYC, 1975)
  • I Never Called It Rape by Robin Warshaw
These books and others are available at the Feminist.com Bookstore under "Violence Against Women". I hope these help with your project.


Amy

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