Were there 19,000 rapes in the US military in 2011?

Question

Donald Trump claimed in a tweet posted by him in 2012 that

Rape is a huge problem in the U.S. military. Over 19,000 rapes last year.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/215817662998126593

But this http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/military-rape-problem/315523/ article posted in 2013 contradicts his claim. It says:

There were 3,374 rapes in the military last year, a 6 percent increase, and an estimated 26,000 sexual assaults — news that comes from a Pentagon report released Tuesday, the day after news arrived from the Air Force that its officer in charge of sexual assault prevention office was charged with sexual assault.

The article indicates there was less than 3300 rapes in 2011. Is Trump's claim correct?

What is the source of this? Is this claim notable? I don't believe this is intended to be interpreted as a real quote; it is intended to be satire. — Oddthinking, Oct 21 '16 at 05:44
Sounds like Trump doesn't know the difference between rape and sexual assault. — Loren Pechtel, Dec 07 '16 at 18:32
I think you should have just opened a new question instead of undeleting and completely changing a previously deleted and unrelated one. — Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard, Dec 07 '16 at 18:36
Guessing that he's conflating the terms "sexual assault" and "rape," which isn't all that uncommon. — PoloHoleSet, Dec 07 '16 at 21:25
please avoid using [tag:donald-trump] for claims repeated by trump. Only use it for claims *about* donald trump — Sklivvz, Dec 07 '16 at 21:35

DavePhD · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-07T18:46:21.843

According to the 7 November 2013 New York Times article Reports of Military Sexual Assault Rise Sharply

Last summer that survey found that about 26,000 men and women in the military were sexually assaulted in 2011, up from 19,000 in 2010

So he might not have phrased precisely, but there is some basis to what he is saying.

The 19,000 number was really the estimated number of sexual assaults, not the reported number of rapes.

An NPR article Fighting Back Against Sexual Assault In The Military says:

The Department of Defense estimates that as many as 19,000 sexual assaults occurred within the military in 2011.

But really the 19000 was for 2010.

See also the FBI article Change in the UCR Definition of Rape . The distinction between rape and sexual assault isn't always consistent.

Were there 19,000 rapes in the US military in 2011?

1 Answers1