# Are rape victims more likely to be raped again? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 7, 2007, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339 "2007-09-07T05:17:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/1 "2007-09-07T05:17:17Z")
Just finished Nelson DeMille’s pretty good military-crime thriller _The General’s Daughter_ (Warner Books 1992). Haven’t seen the Travolta movie, which I’ve heard sucks. Chapter 31 includes this passage, in which an Army criminal investigator tells her partner: \*"…Did you know that a rape victim is statistically more likely to get raped again than a female who has never been raped?.. But no one seems to know why. There’s no common denominator like job, age, neighborhood, or anything like that. It’s just that if it happened once, it’s more likely to happen again…" \* News to me. True, or B.S.? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Cloud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@Little\_Cloud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Cloud)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/2 "2007-09-07T09:11:14Z")
I spent some time volunteering to be on call for rape survivors in the ER of a large city hospital. This is only anecdotal but every time I was called, the victim had alcohol on her breath and a few had been raped more than once. This leads me to believe that women who drink a lot and hang out in bars with drunk men are more likely to be raped. It shouldn’t be true but I think it is. I also had two cases of mentally retarded women who were victimized repeatedly. I suspect it is factors like these that would explain the “statistics”. I doubt that a random victim of a home invasion rape is more likely to be raped again. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/3 "2007-09-07T11:42:59Z")
Here’s an idea, just speculating. Not all rapes are reported. For various reasons some victims never tell what happened to them. People throw out figures like [80%-90% go unreported](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4452962.stm) (dubious - how would they know?) A victim who reports a rape is thus more likely to have previously reported a rape. Not because she is more prone to being raped, but because she is less likely to keep silent about it. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/4 "2007-09-07T11:56:10Z")
I agree with the above 2 posts. No study to cite, but common sense says that 1. There ought to be a correllation between having been raped and being the sort of person who is more willing to go into dangerous situations. 2. Somebody who was raped and reported it is more likely to report it if it happens again. 3. Somebody who makes up a phoney claim about having been raped is more likely to do so again. All of these things would lead to a situation where, according to statistics, a female who has been raped is more likely to be raped again. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/5 "2007-09-07T14:17:20Z")
76% of rapes are committed by non-strangers; the likelihood that a rape victim will still have a connection to the rapist, or like-minded acquaintances, seems predictive. Factors like some victims’ high-risk behavior can only add to that probability. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/6 "2007-09-07T14:30:26Z")
> [@](#): > > In a 1999 longitudinal study of 3,000 women, researchers found women who had been victimized before were seven times more likely to be raped again. (Acierno, Resnick, Kilpatrick, Saunders and Best, Jnl. of Anxiety Disorders 13, 6.) [http://www2.ucsc.edu/rape-prevention/statistics.html](http://www2.ucsc.edu/rape-prevention/statistics.html) It’s certainly possible that the factors mentioned above account for the phenomenon, or some portion of it. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/7 "2007-09-07T15:12:28Z")
I bet if you looked into it, you’d find that men who have been assaulted are a lot more likely to be assaulted again. ---
**Author:** ![Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5fc32e/32.png) [@Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juliette_Culture_Junkie)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/8 "2007-09-07T20:14:47Z")
I agree with the above posts. I also believe that the social and cultural conditioning of many females has a part in it-- akin to the concept of a “born victim”, some people are submissive and less likely to fight back against unfair treatment. To put it cynically, some predators can “smell” it on a woman if she is likely to make a compliant victim. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/9 "2007-09-07T20:23:45Z")
[QUOTE=Juliette: Culture Junkie] I agree with the above posts. I also believe that the social and cultural conditioning of many females has a part in it-- akin to the concept of a “born victim”, some people are submissive and less likely to fight back against unfair treatment. To put it cynically, some predators can “smell” it on a woman if she is likely to make a compliant victim. [/QUOTE] What does a compliant victim smell like? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/10 "2007-09-07T20:37:39Z")
Victory. ---
**Author:** ![CateAyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CateAyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CateAyo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/11 "2007-09-07T20:42:54Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Here’s an idea, just speculating. Not all rapes are reported. For various reasons some victims never tell what happened to them. People throw out figures like [80%-90% go unreported](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4452962.stm) (dubious - how would they know?) A victim who reports a rape is thus more likely to have previously reported a rape. Not because she is more prone to being raped, but because she is less likely to keep silent about it. [/QUOTE] The rate of unreported rape incidents is the product of comparing events reported to police (indicated in the UCR) and the events reported by victims to those who conduct anonymous surveys (NCVS, for example). The difference is discussed as the “dark figure” and that is then adjusted and extrapolated to produce as educated guess as to the actual rate. No one asked, but among the many problems with both modes of data collection, is that rape is tallied per 100,000 citizens. One could argue that the rate should be figured against 100,000 females, as the victims are almost always girls and women. In response to the OP, if one ascribes to the Lifestyle or Routine Activities notion of victimization, one would be likely to suggest that a victim is likely to be victimized again if the life style activities that contributed to the first attack are not changed. While there is sometimes some validity to the position, it is more frequently used as a convenient basis from which the victim is blamed for her own victimization, a very useful perspective in the “boys will be boys” approach. CA ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/12 "2007-09-08T00:51:43Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] What does a compliant victim smell like? [/QUOTE] I think what **Juliette** was trying to say is there is almost an “aura” of victimhood. It’s similar to the kid who gets bullied at school. Such a kid will often carry himself or herself in such a way, probably without even realizing it, that practically screams “easy target”. This makes him a mark for other bullies, even if he moves to a new school where his new classmates are unaware that he was bullied at his previous school. I can see a rape victim having the same aura. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/13 "2007-09-08T01:04:10Z")
[QUOTE=CateAyo] [QUOTE=Peter Morris] Not all rapes are reported. For various reasons some victims never tell what happened to them. People throw out figures like [80%-90% go unreported](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4452962.stm) (dubious - how would they know?) [/QUOTE] The rate of unreported rape incidents is the product of comparing events reported to police (indicated in the UCR) and the events reported by victims to those who conduct anonymous surveys (NCVS, for example). The difference is discussed as the “dark figure” and that is then adjusted and extrapolated to produce as educated guess as to the actual rate. [/QUOTE] For reference, in the BBC link given, the [British Crime Survey](http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/bcs1.html) is the parallel to the NCVS as one of the major source of information on unreported crimes. And it’s acknowledged by all major political parties as the most reliable source of crime statistics we have available to us. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/14 "2007-09-08T01:05:45Z")
Do females living in abusive situations – like a girl being raped by a family member – count? If that kind of thing occurs often enough it could really skew the statistics. ---
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/15 "2007-09-08T02:40:51Z")
I used to listen to a lot of loveline with Dr Drew, his opinion was in many cases when a woman was sexually abused as a child she would be likely to - [ul] [li]Put herself in dangerous situations.[/li][li]‘Freeze up’ when a man make an unwanted sexual advance. (Man thinks - ‘she was a lousy lay’, Woman thinks - ‘I was raped’)[/li][li]Think she was raped or taken advantage of when she wasn’t. (There was one caller who insisted her gynecologist behaved improperly even after Dr. Drew explained several times what he did was a normal exam)[/li][/ul] If Dr. Drew is correct it would help explain why a rape victim is more likely to be raped again. Dr. Drew also believed some people ‘smelled’ like victims and attracted victimizers. I think when most people say ‘smell’ they mean body language and other subtle signals that we don’t consciously notice. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/16 "2007-09-08T04:19:40Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] Victory. [/QUOTE] No, I hear that’s jellied gasoline. Between midnight and noon. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/17 "2007-09-08T05:18:15Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] Do females living in abusive situations – like a girl being raped by a family member – count? If that kind of thing occurs often enough it could really skew the statistics. [/QUOTE] “Skew the statistics” is a funny way of putting it; most rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, such as a partner or other family member. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2007, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/18 "2007-09-08T14:00:03Z")
When you think about it, this is probably true for just about every crime, except homicide. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2007, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/19 "2007-09-09T00:44:42Z")
[QUOTE=Harriet the Spry] When you think about it, this is probably true for just about every crime, except homicide. [/QUOTE] Can you clarify this post? ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2007, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339/20 "2007-09-09T01:22:42Z")
I think **Harriet the Spry** meant that all victims of a particular crime are probably more likely than the general population to be a victim of the same crime again. Take robbery or mugging. There are certain behaviors, e.g. not locking your doors and windows, walking alone at night in shady parts of town, etc. that make one more likely to be robbed. After a person is robbed, no doubt some will change those behaviors. But a few, perhaps many, will think, “What are the odds of _that_ happening again?” and change nothing. Others might be more vigilant for a while, but lapse into bad habits again. Plus you have to consider geography. Those who live in a high-crime neighborhood are likely to be victimized multiple times. Young women who live on or near college campuses are probably at higher risk for rape when you consider things like date rape. Obviously, a victim of homicide isn’t likely to be a victim of homicide again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-rape-victims-more-likely-to-be-raped-again/418339.md?page=2)