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Statistics

West Virginia | National

West Virginia*

88.5% of victims were related to or otherwise known to the offender - 48.7% were acquaintances and 13.5% were children related to the offenders.
Most (66.5%) sex offenses were reported to have occurred at a residence or home.
Personal weapons, such as the offender's hands or fists, were used during sex offenses more than other weapons.
65% of victims were juveniles under the age of 18. The most frequently reported age was 14.
The majority of the offenders were males (94%) and adult (84.2%).

* (Based on sexual assaults reported to law enforcement in 2000 - WV State Police Incident Based Reporting System.)

National*

Somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes.
1 of 6 US women and 1 of 3 US men have been victims of a completed or attempted rape.
An estimated 302,091 women and 92,748 men are forcibly raped each year in the US.
In sexual assaults of adults, the offender was a stranger in 25% of incidents, a family member in 12% of incidents, an acquaintance in 63% of incidents.
1/3 of all sexual assaults reported to law enforcement agencies involved a victim under the age of 12. 42% are age 6 and under, and 34% are between the ages of 7-11.
Federal statistics show a similarity in the characteristics of those categorized as rapists: 99 in 100 are male, 6 in 10 are white, and the average age is the early thirties.
1 in every 4 rapes takes place in a public area or in a parking garage.
68% of rapes occur between the hours of 6 am and 6 pm.
In 29% of rapes, the offender used a weapon.
In 47% of rapes, the victim sustained injuries other than rape injuries.
75% of female rape victims require medical care after an attack.
Less than 5% of college women report incidences of rape to the police.
75% of male students and 55% of female students involved in date rape had been drinking or using drugs.
More than half of raped college women tell no one of their victimization.
U.S. Government statistics estimate 26% - 37% of all rapes are reported to police.

* (National Violence Against Women Survey; Office of Juvenile Justice; Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1995 - 2000.)

Stalking

Stalking is a crime. The National Center for Victims of Crime’s Stalking Resource Center defines stalking as a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person fear.

Under this definition, stalking can include a variety of behaviors. A stalker might repeatedly follow a victim when she/he drives to work. He or she might repeatedly wait for the victim outside her/his home or office. A stalker might call the victim on the phone and make threats or hang up each time the victim answers. Some stalkers slash tires, vandalize homes and threaten their victims with weapons. Some stalkers send flowers, gifts and cards to solely to intimidate their target.

In West Virginia, to be charged with the crime of stalking, someone must repeatedly (two or more times) follow another person knowing or having reason to know that the conduct causes the person followed to reasonably fear for his or her safety or suffer significant emotional distress.

West Virginia’s stalking law addresses additional threatening behaviors in the category of harassment. Someone can be charged with harassment if they repeatedly (two or more times) harass or repeatedly make credible threats against another person.

Who is stalked?

The majority of stalking victims are women (80%), but men are also stalked. Contrary to popular opinion, stalking does not just happen to celebrities or to someone estranged from their partner. Stalking can occur during a relationship, after a relationship or without a relationship. What the research shows is:

4 out of 5 stalking victims are women
50% of stalking victims were between the ages of 18 and 27
59% of female victims report being stalked by a former intimate partner

Who are stalkers?

Stalking is considered gender neutral as both men and women can be stalkers. Generally speaking, however, in the majority of cases, the stalker is male (90%). Stalkers cross all racial, economic, gender, age and other demographic lines. Some danger signs in a relationship that should trigger precautions include:

Extreme jealousy and controlling behavior
A belief that destiny led him/her to you so you belong to them in some way
Few close friendships and an over-dependence on you as a link to the world
Failure to accept responsibility for his/her own behavior
Refusing to accept "no"

What resources are available to a victim of stalking?

Assistance may be obtained from CONTACT. We can give you:

information about actions that you can take
a "Stalking Kit" to help with documentation of stalking activity
referral and assistance with law enforcement and/or the prosecutor's office

Plan B

Information about Plan B

Plan B - 11 Questions, 11 Answers

What you need to know about Plan B, the emergency contraceptive

WebMD - August 24, 2006

Here are 11 questions and answers on the emergency contraceptive Plan B and its FDA approval for over-the-counter sales to women aged 18 and older.

1. What is Plan B?

Plan B is an emergency contraceptive pill taken by mouth after unprotected sex. It is used to prevent pregnancy. It is not for routine contraceptive use and does not prevent against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

2. How is Plan B taken?

Plan B should be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. When taken within 72 hours, it decreases the chance of getting pregnant by 89% -- from 8% without Plan B to 1% with Plan B.

It's even more effective when taken within 24 hours. Effectiveness decreases the longer a woman waits to take it.

3. Who may buy Plan B over the counter?

Women aged 18 and older. Although available over the counter, Plan B will be kept behind the pharmacy counter. Women will need to ask the pharmacy staff for Plan B and may need to show proof of age.

4. What about younger women?

Women aged 17 and younger can still get Plan B by prescription.

5. Why is there an age restriction for Plan B's over-the-counter sales?

The FDA says they wanted to treat it like other prescription products, such as nicotine- replacement products, that require that age. They thought for this program to work, age 18 made sense.

6. When will Plan B become available over the counter?

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Plan B's maker, plans to introduce over-the-counter sales of Plan B to women aged 18 and older by the end of 2006.

7. What is Plan B's active ingredient?

Each Plan B pill contains 0.75 milligrams of levonorgestrel, a synthetic version of the hormone progestin.

Levonorgestrel has been used in birth control pills for over 35 years. Plan B contains a higher dose and is taken as two separate doses 12 hours apart.

8. Is Plan B a new drug?

No. It's been available by prescription to all women since 1999.

Plan B has never before been sold over the counter in the U.S.

9. How does Plan B work?

Plan B works like other birth control pills to prevent pregnancy. Plan B acts primarily by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary. It may prevent a sperm from fertilizing the egg.

If fertilization does occur, Plan B may prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb. If a fertilized egg is implanted prior to taking Plan B, Plan B will not work and pregnancy proceeds normally.

10. Does Plan B have any side effects?

Like any medication, Plan B does have side effects. The most common side effect is nausea, which occurs in about a quarter of women after taking Plan B. Other side effects include abdominal pain, fatigue, headache, and heavy menstrual bleeding.

11. Is Plan B the same as RU-486?

No. RU-486, sold as Mifeprex, is a prescription drug for medical abortion. Mifeprex is used after a woman is already pregnant. Plan B is an emergency contraceptive. It is used to prevent pregnancy. While some people do feel that pregnancy begins at the time of conception, many doctors and the FDA do not describe Plan B as an abortion pill but as emergency contraception.

SOURCES: News release, Barr Pharmaceuticals. FDA: "FDA's Decisions Regarding Plan B: Questions and Answers," May 7, 2004. Steven Galson, MD, MPH, director, FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.