In the United States, sexual violence costs more than drunk driving

We estimated costs of sexual violence in the United States. Costs include direct spending for 1) medical care, 2) mental health care, 3) victim services, 4) foster care, 5) police services, 6) perpetrator treatment, and 7) adjudication and sanctioning, plus 8) victim loss of wages and 9) quality of life. Quality of life losses were estimated from lawsuits against third parties who failed to secure and illuminate their premises or served alcohol to an already-intoxicated person who then committed an assault. The paper estimates probabilities and costs of sexually transmitted diseases (including transmission to the assaulter for youth date rapes), unplanned pregnancies, and suicide acts caused by sexual assault and (based on studies of twins) of youth sexual assault causing alcohol, tobacco, or other drug abuse. Unit costs came from national crime surveys, the health care system, state sanctioning budgets, and published literature.

In 2005, 61,000 Minnesota residents were sexually assaulted, suffering an average of 1.26 assaults per victim. Police logged 7,200 reports of “unwanted sexual intercourse,” but only 2,617 met the law enforcement definition of rape. This means that two-thirds of police-reported rapes are omitted from state and national rape statistics.

Sexual violence costs 3.3 times as much as alcohol-impaired driving in Minnesota. Costs totaled $8 billion in 2005, or $1,540 per resident. The largest cost was due to the pain, suffering, and quality of life losses of victims and their families, and related breakdowns in their lives and relationships. Criminal justice and perpetrator treatment cost $130 million. Other direct spending totaled $1.3 billion. State government spent $130 million on people sexual violence perpetrators and $90 million on victims.

More resources are needed for sexual assault prevention and victim assistance. The Uniform Crime Reports should expand the sexual assault codes they capture. Our methods are transferable to other countries.