Gallup: 36 percent of women worry about sexual assault

Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Thirty-six percent of American women say they frequently or occasionally worry about being the victim of a sexual assault, a number that has remained relatively stagnant since the beginning of the 21st century, a Gallup poll released Monday indicates.

Of the men who responded to the same question, 4 percent said they frequently or occasionally worry about being sexual assault victims. Overall, 20 percent of Americans worry.

Among women, the number is up 7 percentage points since 2017, but the responses since 2000 have remained within a 9-point range, with the highest being 38 percent in 2003 and the lowest at 29 percent in 2001, 2015 and 2017.

With men, the number has fluctuated between 3 percent and 9 percent since 2000.

Among all Americans, the number who say they frequently or occasionally worry about sexual assault increased by 2 percent since 2017. The high was 23 percent in 2000 and 2001, and the low was 16 percent in 2015.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 18.3 percent of women and 1.4 percent of men have been the victims of rape at some point in their lifetime. Gallup figures indicate 2 percent of women and 1 percent of men have been sexually assaulted at some point in the past 12 months.

Gallup surveyed 1,019 adults between Oct. 1-10 for the poll, which has a 4 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.