--- title: Women Raped: 1 in 5 in U.S. description: Approximately one in five women in the U.S. is raped during her lifetime, according to data released Friday canonical: https://time.com/3275859/american-women-raped/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-05T22:44:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:25.208Z og:title: Women Raped: 1 in 5 in U.S. og:description: Approximately one in five women in the U.S. is raped during her lifetime, according to data released Friday og:url: https://time.com/3275859/american-women-raped/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt00c24d67926c35de/6986a23f1eebf73ae637286e/158781471.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: woman silo og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Women Raped: 1 in 5 in U.S. twitter:description: Approximately one in five women in the U.S. is raped during her lifetime, according to data released Friday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt00c24d67926c35de/6986a23f1eebf73ae637286e/158781471.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 1 in 5 U.S. Women Are Raped at Some Point, Report Says ## Video: Justice in a Box: Unboxing a Rape Kit [Watch (HLS stream): Justice in a Box: Unboxing a Rape Kit](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ewC6QwWR.m3u8) (2:26)  _Published 2014-07-17. There's currently a backlog of Rape kits in America. But what are they, and what's exactly in one?_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 5, 2014 10:44 PM UTC  Sunset silhouette Sunset silhouetteGetty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 5, 2014 10:44 PM UTC About 1 in 5 women in the U.S. is raped during their life, according to data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And another 40% experience another form of sexual violence. “Although progress has been made in efforts to prevent sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence, these forms of violence continue to exact a substantial toll upon U.S. adults,” the CDC study said. The problem of sexual violence is particularly acute at younger ages. More than half of female victims said they were violated before they reached age 25\. This finding is consistent with a UNICEF [report](http://time.com/3272638/un-unicef-report-girls-rape-sexual-violence-1-in-10/) released Thursday that suggests that 1 in 10 girls worldwide is raped before age 20. The CDC recommended a number of steps to combat sexual violence, including trying to change societal expectations and promoting safe relationships. “The early promotion of healthy relationships while behaviors are still relatively modifiable makes it more likely that young persons can avoid violence in their relationships,” the report said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3275859/american-women-raped/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3275859/american-women-raped/"},"headline":"1 in 5 U.S. Women Are Raped at Some Point, Report Says","datePublished":"2014-09-05T22:44:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:45:25.208Z","description":"The majority experience sexual violence before age 25","url":"https://time.com/3275859/american-women-raped/","keywords":["Living","Rape","Crime","Dating","Sex","U.S.","relationships","CDC","health","safety"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt00c24d67926c35de/6986a23f1eebf73ae637286e/158781471.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt00c24d67926c35de/6986a23f1eebf73ae637286e/158781471.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"woman silo","caption":"woman silo","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3275859/american-women-raped/","name":"1 in 5 U.S. Women Are Raped at Some Point, Report Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Justice in a Box: Unboxing a Rape Kit","description":"There's currently a backlog of Rape kits in America. 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