Tammy Baldwin: “Studies show that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime and that, on…”

“Studies show that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime and that, on average, a person is sexually assaulted in the United States every 2/2 minutes. In my State of Wisconsin, there were 5,628 sexual assaults reported in the year 2004, the last year statistics are available. This marks a 3.7 percent increase from the previous year. Nationwide, we know that children and young adults are most at risk. Forty-four percent of sexual assault victims are under the age of 18, and 80 percent are under the age of 30. Although most victims are younger women, the effects of sexual assault cross all racial, social, religious, ethnic, and economic boundaries. Whether the crime is rape, incest, child sexual abuse, stalking, or sexual harassment, sexual assault impacts our schools, our workplaces, our streets, and our homes. Survivors are our sons, our daughters, our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our grandparents. In addition to the physical effects of victimization, the emotional scars felt by sexual assault survivors may persist long after the physical scars have healed. Sexual violence costs an estimated $127 billion per year in medical expenses, lost productivity, treatment of psychological trauma, and pain and suffering.”