Health Report Claims 1 in 4 NM Women Likely To Be Raped

The latest report from the New Mexico Department of Health reveals some staggering statistics on sexual assault in the state. According to a survey done by the Interpersonal Violence Data Repository, researchers claim one in four women in the state are likely to be raped.

Analysts said the results come from a statewide survey that allowed them to quantify the unreported cases of rape to find a more accurate number. Director Betty Caponera said New Mexico has the fifth-highest prevalence of rape in the country.

“We had a lifetime prevalence rate of 19 percent. We were only .6 percent away from being one of the worst in the country,” Caponera told ABC-7.

The analysts said they used a formula based on the state’s demographics to find what they call the lifetime prevalence rate. Caponera said the rate shows one in four women and one in twenty men are likely to be raped in their lives.

Caponera said many factors in the state contribute to the high number of cases, but one of the main ones is the layout of the state.

“Poverty and rural areas, not having access to services, all that has to do with it. New Mexico has very rural and tribal areas and a lot of areas where they’re many, many miles from any kind of rape prevention services and it plays into that,” Caponera said.

ABC-7 spoke to several Las Cruces residents Tuesday. Many of them were completely unaware of these statistics, but when they found out they were shocked.

“That’s crazy. I’ve lived here for a few years now, and I can’t imagine having a friend or even myself having that happen,” New Mexico State University student Liz Fruge said.

“I wasn’t aware it was that high of a statistic. It’s kind of spooky. I’m going to be keeping an extra eye out now,” Las Crucen Rebecca Wilson said.

“That’s a little ridiculous to me. The fact that one in four women might be raped is just scary,” New Mexico State University student Ian Norris said.

New Mexico State University Police Crime Prevention Coordinator Amanda Bowen said she thinks women are starting to take advantage of the educational and preventative resources available to them and that leads to more women reporting sexual assaults. Bowen thinks that may be a part of the almost 10 percent increase in sexual assaults shown in the latest report.

“We have a lot of different resources that have really been out in the community recently, things like La Pion, who have really been doing really good work. I think women feel more comfortable going and seeking out those services,” Bowen said.

Bowen said there are many ways women can protect themselves from becoming victims.

“We do encourage that they educate and arm themselves whether it’s through courses or pepper spray, firearms, whatever it takes to protect themselves,” Bowen said.

Even with the increase in reports of sexual assault, Caponera said the real number is even larger.

“Only about 17 percent of all rapes that happen come to the attention of law enforcement. As disturbing as the numbers are, it’s worse than we think,” Caponera said.

La Pion is a sexual assault victims advocate center based in Las Cruces, N.M. To find out more about their services, head to www.lapinon.org.

Free self-defense classes are offered in the Las Cruces area by the NMSU police department. To find out more about their services, head to http://www.nmsu.edu/ucomm/atnmsu/cur/fightlikeagirl.html.