Indiana Tops Nation For Sex Assaults Of High School-Age Girls
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (CBS) -- In Indiana, girls have a higher chance of becoming the victim of sexual assault than almost any other place in the country.
As WBBM Newsradio's Michele Fiore reports, 10.5 percent of all American high school-age girls have been forced into sexual intercourse, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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But the rate vastly exceeds the national average in Indiana, where 17.3 percent of girls in grades 9 through 12 have been raped.
Kinsey Institute Director for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction Julie Heiman told the Bloomington, Ind., Herald-Times that she was "shocked" at the statistics.
The Herald-Times also pointed out that researching the issue is a challenge, given that up to 50 percent of sexual assaults against women are never reported, and Indiana is one of three states – along with Mississippi and New Mexico – where law enforcement is not required to report sexual violence to the FBI.
Researchers also emphasized that 80 percent or more of rape and sexual assault involves people who know each other, not strangers, the newspaper reported.
Following the release of the CDC report, Indiana University researchers are now calling for more sex education and assault prevention efforts.
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