This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Millersville chapter.
To anybody reading this, I want you to know that sexual assault is not, and will not, ever be okay. If you or somebody you know has experienced any form of sexual assault, please call 1-800-656-4673.
Below are some statistics on sexual assault in the U.S.:
- Women are predominantly the victims of sexual assault, though both sexes can be victims of sexual assault.
- 23% of men and 44% of women will experience a form of sexual assault in their lifetime, while 2% of men and 19% of women will experience rape.
- In a study of 23,000 students from 9 universities, 1 out of 5 females experiences an attempted assault or a completed one while they are in college.
- A freshman is considered to be most vulnerable to this type of assault during their first month of school.
- Knowing how traumatic a sexual assault must be, it is no surprise that people who survive a sexual assault are six times more likely to suffer from PTSD and four times more likely to suffer from depression in their lifetime after the attack.
- Sexual violence is about two and half times more common than diseases like cancer and diabetes.
It is time for us all to stand up against sexual violence. If you ever experience or see sexual violence, please stand up. As you can tell from the statistics above, many people have experienced this type of assault. You are not alone.
HCXO,
Lexie
*Information provided by whereisyourline.org