Victim Blaming Statistics

Key Takeaways

1. 153% of surveyed adults reported they believe “people who are raped or sexually assaulted are often to blame,” based on responses aggregated by survey research
2. 258% of U.S. adults believe that rape victims often face disbelief and blame from others
3. 333% of respondents in a study of community attitudes agreed that “whether a woman is raped depends partly on how she behaves,” reflecting victim-blaming
4. 418% of people who have experienced an intimate partner violence (IPV) incident reported experiencing “insensitive or blaming comments” from police or court staff when they sought help
5. 527% of survivors in a national survey reported they were treated with blame or judgment when reporting sexual harassment
6. 69% of surveyed women who experienced sexual violence reported that law enforcement personnel responded in a way that made them feel blamed for what happened
7. 774% of respondents said they would be less likely to report a sexual assault if they thought they would be blamed
8. 81 in 3 (33%) sexual assault survivors in a national survey reported not telling anyone about the assault, with fear of being judged/blamed cited as a reason in the report
9. 928% of respondents in a survey said victim-blaming would make them less likely to assist a sexual assault survivor
10. 1045% of sexual assault survivors who were blamed reported worse mental health outcomes than those who were not blamed (as reported in a meta-analysis of psychological impacts)
11. 111.6x higher risk of PTSD symptoms for survivors exposed to greater victim-blaming attitudes (as synthesized in the literature)
12. 122.0% of adults reported stalking victimization in a 12-month period in the United States (stalking exposure where victim blaming can affect reporting)

Victim blaming is common and makes survivors less likely to report, helping harm persist.