Sexual violence affects everyone.

In 2005, costs of sexual violence in Minnesota totaled $8 billion.

Sexual violence costs 3.3 times as much as alcohol impaired driving in MN.

Nationally, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men reported experiencing an attempted or completed rape at some time in their lives (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Almost two-thirds of all rapes are committed by someone who is known to the victim. Seventy-three percent (73%) of sexual assaults reported in a 2005 survey were perpetrated by a non-stranger. (National Crime Victimization Survey, 2005)

Sexual violence is violence using sex, also referred to as "sexual abuse" and "sexual assault", which is the use of sexual actions and words that are unwanted by and/or harmful to another person.

Many of our society's norms support, condone, or ignore sexually violent messages and/or behavior, which contribute to sexual violence, also referred to as a "rape culture" or "pornified culture."

Sexual violence norms include:
• Destructive gender socialization
• Uses of sex for power and control
• Exploitive images of women and children in the media
• Narrow definitions of masculinity/femininity