The Evolution of the Measurement of Rape and Sexual Assault Over 50 Years: Milestones, Definitions, Operationalizations, and Classifications

• Published date: 01 February 2025
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10439862241290352
• Author: Bonnie S. Fisher,Rebekkah L. Gross
• Date: 01 February 2025
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862241290352

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2025, Vol. 41(1) 166 –195

© The Author(s) 2024

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/10439862241290352

journals.sagepub.com/home/ccj

Article

The Evolution of the

Measurement of Rape and

Sexual Assault Over 50 Years:

Milestones, Definitions,

Operationalizations, and

Classifications

Bonnie S. Fisher1 and Rebekkah L. Gross1

Abstract

For the past 50 years, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has been committed to

improving crime victimization estimates through three crime surveys: the National

Crime Survey (1972–1991), National Crime Victimization Survey (1992–2023), and

the redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey (2024–present). This article

explores the progression of how rape and sexual assault (RSA) have been measured

across these surveys, highlighting key milestones, legislative impacts, and measurement

changes. The key aspects include the transformation of sexual victimization definitions,

the focus on behaviors and tactics in the type of crime classification, and the expansion

from solely measuring rape to a broader spectrum of RSA. The dedication to refining

RSA screening and classification methods through extensive testing and evaluation is

evident. This evolution demonstrates BJS’s ongoing efforts to produce accurate RSA

estimates and adapt to changing societal and legislative contexts.

Keywords

rape, sexual assault, National Crime Survey, National Crime Victimization Survey,

National Crime Victimization Survey–Redesign, measurement

Introduction

For the last 50 years, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has been committed to

assessing and improving crime victimization estimates through: (a) the National Crime

Survey (NCS, 1972–1991), (b) the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS,

1University of Cincinnati, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:

Rebekkah L. Gross, University of Cincinnati, 660 Teachers-Dyer Complex, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.

Email: grossro@mail.uc.edu

1290352CCJXXX10.1177/10439862241290352Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice XX(X)Fisher and Gross

research-article2024

Fisher and Gross 167

1992–2023), and (c) National Crime Victimization Survey–Redesign (NCVS-R,

2024–present). A notable focus of BJS’s endeavors has been the integrity and quality

of the measurement of sexual victimization (e.g., rape, sexual assault). BJS’s long-

standing commitment to improving measurement and testing the effects of survey

changes on victimization estimates is well-documented in government publications

(e.g., Kindermann et al., 1997; McDermott, 1979) and external methodological reports

and field testing evaluations (e.g., Cantor et al., 2023; National Research Council

[NRC], 1976, 2014).

This article documents the evolution of the measurement of rape in the NCS, to

rape and sexual assault (RSA) in the first redesigned NCVS, to the present and second

redesigned NCVS-R. First, we present a timeline highlighting BJS’s activities and

those external to BJS. Second, we explain how the definition of sexual victimization

used in these three crime surveys has changed. Third, we describe the two-stage mea-

surement process—a hallmark of the NCS, NCVS, and NCVS-R methodology. Last,

we describe the operationalization and classification processes within each

instrument.

The Evolution of Sexual Victimization Measurement

BJS’s progression in defining sexual victimization and commitment to improving

RSA measurement over the last 50 years has been juxtaposed against the backdrop of

legislative changes, research, and societal shifts in sexual victimization norms. The

timeline in Figure 1 highlights milestones and publications in the evolution of sexual

victimization measurement in the NCS, NCVS, and NCVS-R, showing the shift from

rudimentary measurement approaches in the NCS to more sophisticated and nuanced

approaches in the two NCVS versions. In Figure 1, Panel A highlights publications by

the U.S. Department of Justice, BJS employees, or their collaborators (e.g., Criminal

Justice Research Center—Albany, NY, Westat, Research Triangle Institute) related to

the measurement of sexual victimization in the three crime surveys. Panel B docu-

ments legislative actions, social movements, and seminal research addressing violence

against women that parallel BJS’s milestones.

Panel A: Milestones and Publications in the Evolution

of the NCS, NCVS, and NCVS-R

Amid rising crime rates in the 1960s, President Johnson created the Commission of

Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice to analyze the origins and conse-

quences of crime and to propose mitigation strategies. Among the Commission’s pro-

posals in their 1967 report was the first-ever nationwide victimization survey (United

States President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice,

1967).

The NCS was launched in 1972 to a representative sample of the general population

that was 12 years of age and older with the sole purposes of providing annual estimates