What percentage of victims report sexual assault?

• A. About 20%
• B. About 60%
• C. About 5%
• D. About 40%

Answer: (A)

The question tests how often sexual assault is actually reported to authorities and highlights the issue of underreporting. The best answer is about twenty percent because large-scale research consistently shows that only a minority of sexual assaults are brought to police or formal authorities. This pattern holds across national victimization surveys, with roughly one in five victims reporting, though exact figures can vary by type of assault, relationship to the perpetrator, and reporting channel.

Understanding this helps explain the other choices: reporting is not common enough to reach forty or sixty percent, and while some cases may be very low (around five percent) in certain subgroups or contexts, the overall trend most often cited in research is around twenty percent. Keep in mind that many victims seek support or medical care without filing a police report, which is part of why reporting rates remain relatively low.