- WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly half of all rape victims were assaulted before
their 17th birthday, according a study commissioned by the federal government.
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- And an estimated 17.7 million women in
the United States -- nearly 18 percent -- have been raped or have been
the victim of attempted rape, said the study, which was released Tuesday
by the Justice and Health and Human Services departments.
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- The nationwide survey, conducted by the
Denver-based Center for Policy Research, also found that more than half
of women at one time in their lives have been physically assaulted, ranging
from slaps and punches to gun violence.
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- "Each number in this survey represents
our daughters, our mothers and our neighbors," HHS Secretary Donna
Shalala said in a statement. "We must recognize violence against women
as a significant social problem."
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- The National Violence Against Women survey
interviewed about 8,000 men and 8,000 women about physical assault experienced
during childhood and as adults.
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- Three of four women who responded that
they had been raped or assaulted as adults said the perpetrator was a current
or former husband, a co-habitating partner or a date.
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- Just 18 percent of men who responded
to having been assault victims said the perpetrator was an intimate partner.
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- The telephone survey used several methods
in an attempt to increase the quality of the data: The questions were posed
in the context of "personal safety" rather than "crime,"
respondents could call the interviewer back in case the abuser was present
and women were interviewed by women.
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