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Page 1
Hurricanes Katrina/Rita and Sexual Violence
Report on Database of Sexual Violence Prevalence and Incidence
Related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
H
urricanes Katrina and Rita caused immense devastation along the Gulf Coast region in
late summer 2005. In the weeks immediately following these disasters, a group of
professionals from the fields of rape victim advocacy, law enforcement, emergency
medicine, and prosecution began work on developing an anonymous database to
measure the extent of sexual violence committed in the aftermath of these hurricanes.
*
Now, six month after the development of this national database, the group offers a
report on preliminary findings.
Developed as an internet survey, using the Survey Monkey program, the intent of this
initiative was to obtain an estimate of the incidence and prevalence of sexual violence that
occurred during or following the hurricanes, and to collect some anecdotal information,
when offered. The procedure involved the following steps: A link to the survey was
disseminated, via email, to various advocacy, criminal justice, and medical organizations
and coalitions throughout the US. Information regarding victimization was entered into
the database by the professionals who had been in direct contact with victims/survivors, or
by those supporting their efforts, e.g. state sexual assault coalition staff. In order to protect
the integrity of the data, the public did not have access to the database.
The database does not include any identifying information about victims/survivors,
however gathered sufficient information so as not to duplicate reports of one incident.
Individuals entering data were asked to enter their agency contact
information so that they could be reached in order to verify the entered information. A
California Public Health Department Quality Assurance Specialist developed the survey and
verified the information. A summary of the data is sent to the National Sexual Violence
Resource Center on a monthly basis.
___________________
July 2006
*
American Prosecutors Research Institute; End Violence Against Women International; Gulf States Regional Policing Institute;
International Association of Chiefs of Police; Joanne Archambault (Sergeant Ret.) Sexual Assault Training and Investigations;
Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault; National Center for Women and Policing; National Crime Victim Law Institute
& Center for Law and Public Policy on Sexual Violence; National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence; National Sexual
Assault Coalition Resource Sharing Project; National Sexual Violence Resource Center; State Sexual Assault Coalitions;
Wendy Murphy, Esq.,Victim Advocacy and Research Group.
Page 2
To date, 47 cases have been entered in the database.
The following information offers a sketch of the data.
State and Site of Assaults
Location of sexual assaults and survey respondents
83.3 % of documented sexual assaults occurred in Louisiana
70.0 % of the reporting agencies were located in Louisiana
Location of the sexual assaults
Evacuation sites or other shelter
30.8 %
Victim's home
10.3 %
Host Home
12.8 %
Street/Open area
12.8 %
Public Building (not a shelter)
10.3 %
Other (hotel, perpetrator’s home, car)
23.1 %
Demographics of Victims/Survivors
93.2 percent of victims were female, 6.7 % male
Victim/Survivor status
Disaster victims
95.0 %
Member of host family household
2.5 %
Unspecified
2.5 %
Age of victim
13.6 % were age 14 or less
36.4 % were between the ages of 15 and 24
29.5 % were between the ages of 25 and 44
20.4 % were age 45 or older
Race and Ethnicity of Victim/Survivor (self-identified)
44.4 % Caucasian/White
33.3 % African American/Black
6.7 % Native American
15.6 % did not specify
Page 3
Consideration of Overall Prevalence of Sexual Violence
The 47 reported cases in this database can be viewed as a remarkably high rate of prevalence,
especially given the fact that sexual violence is such a highly underreported crime, even during more
optimal conditions for reporting. During a time of disaster, however, when many hardships impact
the population, even the most basic needs for food shelter and family safety would likely diminish
opportunities for reporting and the psychological ability to cope with multiple traumas. Furthermore,
the magnitude of these data are underscored when you account for the extraordinary
circumstances and burdens confronted by advocates and first responders.
Finally, these 47 records reflect a small percentage of the anecdotal reports and accounts reported
informally by advocates in Texas, a major evacuee location. These advocates reported additional
disclosures from evacuees who were sexually assaulted in Louisiana or after they arrived in Texas.
Note that the survey is still active and accessible via the internet. If you are working
with a victim/survivor who was sexually assaulted as a result of the devastation of
Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, and you would like to add that information to the survey,
please contact Cathy Nardo, at 877-739-3895 ext. 103, for the link to the database.
Perpetrator Information
93.3 % of perpetrators were male and the remainder
were unspecified
Perpetrators (type or relationship)
Strangers to the victims/survivors
38.6 %
Family members
9.1 %
Current or former intimate partners
9.1 %
Acquaintance
25.0 %
Unspecified/Other
29.6 %
Additional Facts
• 26.8 % of victims had contact with a Rape Crisis/Victim Service Agency
within 24 hours of the assault
• 54.8 % of the sexual assault were reported to law enforcement agencies
• 40 % of victims/survivors received a medical-forensic exam
• Survey respondents (agencies) were most often rape crisis centers (40.4 %) or
state sexual assault coalitions. (51.1 %)