Domestic Abuse News: 1 in 7 Hispanic Women Are Raped, Report Says
One in five women have been raped in the U.S. in their lifetimes, an estimated total of more than 23 million, according to a new report by the Center for Disease Control.
The results are from a phone survey in 2011, NBC reports.
Additional information from the report includes 43.9 percent of women reported experiencing sexual violence.
Men, by comparison, have significantly lower numbers, with 1.7 percent -- or about 1.9 million -- reporting having been raped, and about 23.4 percent saying they experience sexual violence, according to NBC.
But the numbers vary greatly when ethnicities are analyzed.
A 2006 report by the Department of Justice included statistics by ethnicity, which revealed that Native Americans in the country are the most likely to have forced or abusive sexual experiences -- 1 in every 3 reported such experiences.
At least 40 percent of African-American women and about 22 percent of Latinas reported similar experiences.
The Rape Response Services reported statistics indicating that 1 in 7 Hispanic women will be raped in their lifetime.
The Office for Victims of Crime reported that Latinas are especially vulnerable to rape and sexual abuse as they migrate to the U.S., either during the journey or after they arrive.
"Immigrant Latina domestic workers are especially vulnerable to sexual exploitation because they depend on their employers for their livelihood, live in constant fear of being deported, suffer social isolation, and are vulnerable to their employer's demands," the report said. "For the increasing numbers of women who make the journey across the Mexico-U.S. border, rape has become so prevalent that many women take birth control pills or get shots before setting out to ensure that they won't get pregnant."
Some of the issues facing many of the women is the lack of communication and lack of help available. Often, there can be a language barrier, or a cultural barrier that prevents the women from reporting rape.
In addition, the information and preventative tools are often not available, as is the case with the Native American women.
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