Most recent data shows that women and girls experienced about 270,000 rapes or sexual assaults annually.One in five college women has been sexually assaulted while in college. In almost all cases, the institutional response has been inadequate. We have an increasing crisis with regard to sexual assaults.
Domestic violence is another aspect of this issue. One in three female homicide victims is killed by an intimate partner. Twenty-four percent of adult women have been physically assaulted by a partner at some time in their
lives. Elder abuse, another part of this subject, is a growing problem. Elder mistreatment is defined as intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other
person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder. It is estimated that one to two million people age sixty-five and above are injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated. The abuse includes placing elders under guardianship or conservatorship against their wills. Female elders are abused at a higher
rate than males.