The Trouble With Rape

Fun Facts About Utah:

1) 91.4% of rapes in Utah in were committed by someone the victim knew.

2) The imprint of a species now extinct exists in Utah. Some of biggest dinosaur footprints (of the hadrosaurid) in the world can be found here. But how about those dinosaurs in the state senate, huh? (ed: HAW HAW HAW)

3) 64% of rapes are planned.

4) 32,000 pregnancies result from rape every year in the U.S.

5) Levan, a Utah town, is "navel" spelled backwards, so named because it is in the middle of Utah. Clever!

6) Utah was one of the last states in the U.S. to pass legislation allowing married women to prosecute their husbands in sexual assault cases. They passed the law in 1991 - long after the commercial success of the Disney film, “The Little Mermaid.” Even mer-people could rebel against oppressive patriarchal authority figures before married Utah women! The ocean is pretty progressive.

7) 1 in 3 women in Utah will experience sexual assault in her lifetime. The national average is 1 in 6.

8) 86% of Utah rape victims are raped before their 18th birthday.

9) Utah state law gives birds the right-of-way on the freeway. What a world!

10) Only 9.8% of rapes in Utah are reported to law enforcement, which would mean that one rape was committed every 9.49 hours - if you ignore the 90% of rapes that go unreported.

10) An 11-year-old Utah boy named Fin Keleher has broken a world record: he kept more snails stuck to his face for a 10-second period than the previous record-holder (who managed a grand total of 37). Check out the wacky video! Also, 52% of rapists will be re-arrested within three years of release.

11) Free rape counseling, crisis volunteers, therapy classes, and health services can be reached in Utah County at the Center for Women and Children in Crisis.
Call for 24-hour services: (801) 356-2511

Also, check out this article where Utah wins first prize for having the nation's most raped adult females: 20.6%

(All rape statistics via Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, 2009. Link)

Eliza Campbell plays the blues on her jaw-harp because of things like this.

5 comments:

Austin said...

This should totes be made into a psa or a bus ad

Emily said...

I agree with Austin.

Anonymous said...

if ~90% of rape is unreported, where do we get such ¿accurate? statistics?

eliza.e.campbell said...

I based the information in this article on polls done in Utah by the Utah Commission on Juvenile Justice over the past few years, and I looked at a lot of numbers for comparison. What I found is that generally, the statistics I quoted were pretty constant year-for-year, so I made some broad estimates. For instance, I've read numbers for other years, other Utah counties, and other states on the number of rapes that are reported, and heard that the number reported can be anywhere from 5 to 12% (that's based on about 20 different studies).

But you're right. There is a consistent lack of data, and a definite lack of research being done to change that, which I think speaks to the same problem - rape isn't valued or prioritized as a crime and a societal problem that needs to be addressed. That's why BYU's WomanStats Project, run by our own Dr. Hudson, is so revolutionary - it addresses a lack of data about the status of women that is a problem all over the world.

But basically, I based what I said here on the studies that have been done in Utah, especially since these numbers are what the Center for Women and Children in Crisis uses in their press packets and information sessions. And I work for them. So.

Anonymous said...

interesting. how accurate are the statistics regarding men being raped?

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