WUNRN
RAINN - Rape, Abuse & Incest
National Network - US
Also Via Women's Justice Center - US
USA
Only three out of
every 100 rapists will ever spend even a single day in prison, according to a
new analysis by RAINN of
Justice Department data (U.S. Department of Justice. 2012 National
Crime Victimization Survey.)
The other 97 will
walk free, facing no consequences for the violent felony they have committed.
Because rapists tend to be serial criminals, this leaves communities across the
nation at risk of predators.
While the
percentage of rapes reported to police has risen in recent years, a majority —
54% — still are not reported, according to the Justice Department. But
increasing reporting alone won't solve the problem: only about one out of four
reported rapes leads to an arrest, and only about one out of four arrests leads
to a felony conviction and incarceration.
RAINN's new
analysis is based on the most recent available Justice Department data, using
an average of the five most recent years when available. Based on older data,
RAINN had previously estimated that about 6% of rapists ultimately go to prison
for their crime.
"This staggering statistic sends a clear message to offenders that they can commit this horrible crime and get away with it. The single most important thing we can do to prevent rape is to put more rapists in prison," notes Scott Berkowitz, RAINN's president and founder. "That's why we have made it a priority to pass the SAFER Act and eliminate the backlog of untested DNA evidence from open rape cases."
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