U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics November 2020, NCJ 255446 Bureau of Justice Statistics Bureau National Survey of Youth in Custody, 2018 Victim, Perpetrator, and Incident Characteristics of Sexual Victimization of Youth in Juvenile Facilities, 2018 – Statistical Tables Michael B. Field and Elizabeth Davis, BJS Statisticians his report describes victim, perpetrator, Organization of the statistical tables and incident characteristics of sexual victimization of youth in juvenile The statistical tables are organized into two Tfacilities. These tables accompany the full major sections. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report Sexual Section 1 includes demographics and Victimization Reported by Youth in Juvenile characteristics of youth who reported having Facilities, 2018 (NCJ 253042, BJS, December been sexually victimized in the 12 months 2019), which provides national estimates of 1,2 prior to the survey. This section also includes sexual victimization in juvenile facilities. · information on the number of incidents Data are from BJS’s 2018 National Survey of experienced in the last 12 months, whether Tables Statistical Youth in Custody (NSYC-3), conducted from the victim was physically injured in any of the March to December of 2018. The NSYC-3 was incidents, when the first incident occurred, and conducted in 327 facilities that housed juveniles, any prior contact or relationship between the including 217 state-owned or state-operated victim and perpetrator(s). facilities and 110 locally or privately operated Section 2 includes perpetrator and incident facilities that held state-placed youth under characteristics for the most serious incident of contract. An additional five sampled facilities sexual victimization during the 12 months prior were excluded because data on sexual to the survey, as reported by the respondent. victimization were not collected or could not Most-serious incidents in this section were be used. The NSYC-3 sexual-victimization determined by first ranking incidents reported survey was completed by 6,049 youth, who by each youth into one of the four categories: were sampled from at least one facility in every (1) involving “forced or coerced sexual acts,” state and the District of Columbia. See the (2) involving “other forced or coerced sexual Methodology in the full BJS report for detailed activity,” (3) involving “sexual acts with no force information on how the data were collected or coercion,” or (4) involving “other sexual and analyzed. activity with no force or coercion.” Each youth The NSYC is part of BJS’s National Prison was then asked about the most recent incident Rape Statistics Program and collects data on from the highest-ranked category. allegations of sexual victimization as required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA; P.L. 108-79). 1For the full report, see https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/ pdf/svryjf18.pdf. 2For supplemental tables, see https://www.bjs.gov/content/ pub/pdf/svryjf18st.pdf. Highlights Sexual victimization in the past year Most-serious incidents of sexual victimization A higher percentage of male (6.1%) than female (2.9%) In most-serious incidents of staff sexual misconduct, an youth reported staff sexual misconduct. estimated 91% of incidents involved only female staff, while 6% involved only male staff. A higher percentage of female (4.7%) than male (1.6%) youth reported youth-on-youth victimization. An estimated 60% of most-serious incidents of youth-on-youth sexual victimization and 61% of A higher percentage of white (6.3%) and black (6.7%) most-serious incidents of staff sexual misconduct youth reported staff sexual misconduct than Hispanic involved a single perpetrator. youth (3.2%). In most-serious incidents of youth-on-youth sexual A higher percentage of white youth (3.1%) reported victimization in which there was a single perpetrator youth-on-youth sexual victimization than black (1.2%) reported, 57% of the time the perpetrator was white or Hispanic (1.0%) youth. and 26% of the time the perpetrator was black. A higher percentage of youth who identified their In most-serious incidents of youth-on-youth sexual sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or victimization in which there were multiple perpetrators something else (12.0%) reported sexual victimization reported, 35% of the time all perpetrators were black, than heterosexual youth (6.5%). and 20% of the time all perpetrators were white. A higher percentage of youth who identified as a A reported 36% of most-serious incidents of staff sexual different gender from their sex recorded at birth misconduct involved force or coercion—72% of the (19.1%) reported sexual victimization than youth who time when the perpetrator was male, 32% of the time identified with their biological sex (6.8%). when the perpetrator was female. For nearly every disability and mental-health condition In most-serious incidents of youth-on-youth sexual measured, youth with the disability or condition victimization, an estimated 33% of victims were reported higher rates of youth-on-youth sexual threatened with physical harm, 22% were threatened victimization and staff sexual misconduct than youth with a weapon, and 14% were given drugs or alcohol. without the disability or condition. About half of youth (51%) who reported prior sexual victimization in another juvenile facility also reported sexual victimization in their current facility. An estimated 81% of youth who reported victimization by another youth and 91% of youth who reported staff sexual misconduct reported more than one incident. An estimated 32% of youth who reported victimization by another youth and 3% of youth who reported staff sexual misconduct reported physical injuries. About half of youth victimized by another youth (50%) and about half of youth victims of staff sexual misconduct (47%) reported that they experienced their first victimization during their first month in the facility. Victim, Perpetrator, and Incident Characteristics of Sexual Victimization of Youth in Juvenile Facilities, 2018 – Statistical Tables | November 2020 2 Terms and definitions Force or coercion includes— • being shown something sexual, such as physical force or threat of force pictures or a movie • other sexual activity, whether or not it other forms of pressure or coercion, such involved touching. as threatening to get the youth in trouble; giving the youth money, favors, protection, or other Staff sexual misconduct that either did or did not special treatment; or repeatedly asking the youth to involve force or coercion includes— engage in sexual activity. | sexual acts Sexual victimization reported by youth involves any • contact between the penis and the vagina forced or coerced sexual activity with another youth or anus and any sexual activity with facility staff.3 • penetration of the anal or vaginal opening Youth-on-youth sexual victimization involving of another person by a hand, finger, or force or coercion includes— other object | forced or coerced sexual acts • contact between the mouth and the penis, • contact between the penis and the vagina vagina, or anus or anus • rubbing of another person’s penis or vagina • penetration of the anal or vaginal opening with a hand. of another person by a hand, finger, or | other sexual activity that did not meet the other object description of sexual acts above • contact between the mouth and the penis, • kissing on the lips vagina, or anus • kissing another body part, not including • rubbing of another person’s penis or vagina those listed under sexual acts above with a hand. • being shown something sexual, such as | other forced or coerced sexual activity that did pictures or a movie not meet the description of sexual • other sexual activity, whether or not it acts above involved touching. • kissing on the lips • kissing another body part, not including those listed under sexual acts above 3The NSYC does not distinguish between completed and attempted sexual victimization. Victim, Perpetrator, and Incident Characteristics of Sexual Victimization of Youth in Juvenile Facilities, 2018 – Statistical Tables | November 2020 3 Section 1: Sexual victimization in the past year TABLE 1.1. Youth reporting sexual victimization in juvenile facilities, by type of incident and selected youth characteristics, 2018 TABLE 1.2. Youth reporting sexual victimization in juvenile facilities, by type of incident and selected victim experiences, 2018 TABLE 1.3a. Youth reporting sexual victimization in juvenile facilities, by type of incident and reported disability or mental-health status, 2018 TABLE 1.3b. Youth reporting sexual victimization in juvenile facilities, by type of incident and results of mental-health screener, 2018 TABLE 1.4. Youth-on-youth sexual victimization involving force or coercion in juvenile facilities, by selected victim experiences, 2018 TABLE 1.5. Staff sexual misconduct in juvenile facilities, by selected victim experiences, 2018 Section 2: Most-serious incidents of sexual victimization TABLE 2.1. Perpetrator characteristics in most-serious incidents of youth-on-youth sexual victimization involving force or coercion in juvenile facilities, 2018 TABLE 2.2. Incident characteristics of most-serious incidents of youth-on-youth sexual victimization involving force or coercion in juvenile facilities, 2018 TABLE 2.3a. Sex of perpetrator and use of force or coercion in most-serious incidents of staff sexual misconduct in juvenile facilities, 2018 TABLE 2.3b.