Statistics

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What this page shows

These statistics combine public survivor stories with anonymous survey responses to show patterns that are often hidden when experiences are treated as isolated events.

Story numbers come from submissions shared with Stronger in the Light, including mapped locations when enough location detail was provided. Survey charts use only aggregated responses, and detailed breakdowns are hidden until enough people have answered to reduce the risk of identifying anyone.

The goal is not to turn individual experiences into abstractions. It is to make the scale, timing, disclosure patterns, and justice outcomes easier to see so survivors, advocates, researchers, and communities can respond with better context.

Survivor Stories: By the Numbers

26
Stories shared
26
Placed on the map
19
States & regions represented
0%
Involved sex trafficking

Age when the abuse began

1
0-5
3
6-9
7
10-12
9
13-16
6
17-20
2
21-30
2
31-50
0
51-65
0
65-100

Story locations

26 mapped stories across 19 states and regions. Explore the map →

From The Survey

16.8%
Involved sex trafficking
10.2%
Involved ritual abuse
62%
Ongoing / repeated abuse
32.3%
Reported to authorities

Age abuse began & age disclosed

27
Avg age abuse began
29
Avg age at disclosure
about 2 years between abuse and disclosure

Ongoing abuse

6y 4m
Avg. duration when abuse was ongoing
62% reported ongoing / repeated abuse

Top 5 first told

18
Aunt/Uncle
16
Religious figure
15
Fraternity member
14
Therapist
12
Childcare worker

Gender of who they told

  • Unknown29%
  • Male26%
  • Female24%
  • Nonbinary21%

The Survivor

Survivor gender

  • Female21%
  • Other17%
  • Trans woman16%
  • Prefer not to say13%
  • Nonbinary12%
  • Trans man11%
  • Male9%

Survivor race

  • Middle Eastern or North African16%
  • Black or African American13%
  • Two or more races13%
  • Asian11%
  • American Indian or Alaska Native10%
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander10%
  • Hispanic or Latino10%
  • White9%
  • Other8%

Age when abuse started

52
0-5
32
6-9
57
10-12
28
13-16
18
17-20
16
21-30
33
31-50
25
51-65
38
65-100

Disclosure & belief

75.6%
Told someone
42.4%
Believed when they told

The Abuser

Abuser gender

  • Nonbinary22%
  • Man20%
  • Woman17%
  • Unknown16%
  • Trans man16%
  • Trans woman9%

Abuser race

  • White17%
  • American Indian or Alaska Native15%
  • Black or African American12%
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander11%
  • Some other race10%
  • Two or more races10%
  • Middle Eastern or North African9%
  • Hispanic or Latino9%
  • Other8%

Abuser religion

  • Latter-day Saint11%
  • Hasidic Jew10%
  • Atheist10%
  • Jewish8%
  • Quaker8%
  • Other religion8%
  • Agnostic7%
  • Buddhist6%
  • Other32%

Abuser's age at the time

47
<9
21
9-14
26
15-20
46
21-30
15
31-40
31
41-50
22
51-60
15
61-70
24
71-80
21
81+
31
Unsure

Relationship to the survivor

21
Teacher
21
Coach
19
Grandparent
18
Coworker
16
Aunt/Uncle
16
Fraternity member

Reporting & Justice

From report to justice

All responses
303
100%
Reported to authorities
98
32%
Prosecuted
39
13%
Abuser jailed
20
7%

Each bar is a share of all 303 responses — showing how few reports reach each stage. (Separately, 75.6% told someone they knew.)

Child Protective Services

Was involved of reports60%
Survivor felt believed of CPS cases36%
Survivor felt helped of CPS cases46%

Police

Were involved of reports61%
Survivor felt believed of police cases47%
Survivor felt helped of police cases37%

After Telling Someone

I lost…

Trust in othersFinancial stabilityFamily relationshipsMy homeTime with my childrenMy reputationMy faith communityNothingA sense of safetyFriendships

I felt…

AngerEmpoweredShameRegretReliefAloneNumbGuiltHopefulValidatedFear

I gained…

A sense of justiceMy voiceConfidenceSelf-understandingFreedomNothingA support systemPeaceHealingConnection with others

Add your response to the survey →

These figures update automatically as new stories and survey responses come in. They include only anonymized, aggregated information — no individual story or response can be identified from this page. Most recent story added June 26, 2026.

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