Lifetime and current sexual assault and harassment victimization rates of active-duty United States Air Force women

Violence Against Women. 2007 Sep;13(9):927-44. doi: 10.1177/1077801207305232.

Abstract

From a stratified random sample, 2,018 active-duty United States Air Force women completed a telephone survey dealing with sexual assault and harassment. The lifetime prevalence of rape among Air Force women (28%) was more than twice as high as the prevalence in a national sample (13%). Nearly half of the military sample had been the victims of rape, molestation, or attempted sexual assault. The majority of both initial rapes (75%) and most recent rapes (56%) involved assault by civilians when the victims were civilians. Family members perpetrated 29% of initial rapes and 33% of most recent rapes. Regarding military status of the perpetrator, 14% of first-time victims were raped by a military member, 26% of multiple-time victims were raped by a military member, 31.8% of military women were sexually harassed by a military supervisor or boss, and 26.7% of military women were sexually harassed by a military coworker.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aggression
  • Crime Victims / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Military Personnel / statistics & numerical data*
  • Occupational Diseases / epidemiology
  • Prevalence
  • Public Opinion
  • Rape / statistics & numerical data*
  • Sex Offenses / statistics & numerical data
  • Sexual Harassment / statistics & numerical data*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Women's Health