Series · 6 reports
Assault victims by race and sex
Six reports measure who is the victim in police-reported assaults, as rates per resident: single cities first, then every large city with complete data, then a test of what police records measure.
The series began with Los Angeles and added DC, Baltimore and Dallas using the same method, packaged as the open-source disparity-kit. It then ran every large US city with complete FBI data, and compared police records with the national victimization survey and hospital records to see what the police number measures.
Every report counts reports, not people, and only assaults that reached the police, so willingness to report matters. Race is as recorded by officers. Each report says what its data cannot show. The data does not say why the gap exists, and nothing in it measures offenders.
The reports
Four cities and national surveys · 2015 to 2025 · Oct 3, 2026
Police records and hospital emergency departments both put Black women's assault rate at about 4 to 5 times White women's. Only the national victimization survey, in which women describe their own assaults, puts it at 1 to 2 times.
59 large US cities · 2022 to 2025 · Oct 3, 2026
In all 46 cities with complete police data, Black women's reported assault rate is higher than White women's (about 3.8 times in the typical city), and in all 41 that record ethnicity it is higher than Hispanic women's (about 2.4 times). Nothing measured explains why.
Dallas, TX · 2022 to 2025 · Oct 2, 2026
Black women's reported assault rate in Dallas is 2.1 to 2.3 times Hispanic women's and 3.6 to 4 times White women's, and it is widest for aggravated assault. Age does not explain it.
Baltimore, MD · 2022 to 2024 · Oct 2, 2026
Black women's reported assault rate in Baltimore is about 2.5 to 3 times White women's, and age, police district and neighborhood do not explain it. The comparison with Hispanic women can't be settled: ethnicity is unknown for 42% of women victims.
Washington, DC · 2022 to 2025 · Oct 2, 2026
Black women's reported assault rate in DC is 2 to 3 times Hispanic women's and about 10 times White women's. The gap is widest for the most serious assaults, and neighborhood accounts for part of it.
Los Angeles, CA · 2020 to 2023 · Sep 1, 2023
Black women's reported assault rate in Los Angeles is 2.3 to 2.9 times Hispanic women's and 4.6 to 5.7 times White women's. After adjusting for age, location, neighborhood and homelessness, it is still about 2 times.