Sexual Assault in Wisconsin Prior to the WiSAKI Project

The purpose of these dashboards is to provide a larger context to sexual assaults, forensic exams and the collection of sexual assault kits (SAKs) in Wisconsin and its 72 counties prior to the start of the WiSAKI project. Use these dashboards to learn more about the scope of the problem of previously unsubmitted SAKs across the state at WiSAKI’s start.

Context: This interactive dashboard shows the number of victims who reported a sexual assault to local law enforcement as captured through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program as well as the number of forensic exams conducted by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Programs and the number of SAKs collected from 2010 through 2015. Statewide totals for the six-year period are displayed on the side while yearly totals are shown in the bar charts on the bottom. The shading on the map can be changed to reflect the average yearly: sexual assault victim rate, SANE exam rate or number of SAKs collected rate per 10,000 population for 2010-2015; the darker the county the higher the rate. County level totals of the same information as well as percent of the state total for each of the measures can be found by hovering the cursor over an individual county.

SAKs Collected: This interactive dashboard shows the number of SAKs collected between 2010 and 2015, separated by whether the SAK was submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratories (WSCL) for testing prior to the start of the WiSAKI project. The SAKs that were not submitted for testing between 2010 and 2015 were the SAKs inventoried as part of the WiSAKI project. Statewide totals for the six-year period are displayed on the side while yearly totals are shown in the bar charts on the bottom. The map is shaded by the percent of SAKs submitted for testing prior to the start of the WiSAKI project; the darker the county the higher the percentage of SAKs that were submitted. County level totals of the same information can be found by hovering the cursor over an individual county. The reasons provided by local law enforcement as to why the SAKs were not submitted for testing can be found here.

Data Notes: The number of victims, the number of forensic exams performed, and the number of SAKs collected were calculated independently of one another and are not linked. It is possible for a victim of sexual assault to have a forensic exam and/or SAK collected and not report the assault to law enforcement. Victim counts are a count of unique victims of a sexual assault incident as reported through the UCR program and include all incidents coded as a sexual assault (11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 36A, 36B) including those coded as unfounded. The number of SANE exams peformed is based on discharge data submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services by medical providers and is a unique count of patients with the ICD9 and ICD10 codes (V715, Z04.41, Z04.42, 995.83, 995.53, T76.2*, or T74.2*). The total number of SAKs collected is a count of SAKs known to DOJ. This count does not include SAKs that were destroyed by a local law enforcement agency prior to testing and prior to the WiSAKI inventory in 2016/17.

Last updated: 4/7/2021