New Mexico

Survey finds more than half of New Mexicans have experienced sexual violence • Source New Mexico

Published

12 months ago

January 8, 2025

Survey finds more than half of New Mexicans have experienced sexual violence • Source New Mexico

This story discusses sexual violence. For anyone in need of support, please call, text or chat the New Mexico Sexual Assault Helpline at 1-844-667-2457 or nmsahelp.org.

More than half of all New Mexicans have been sexually assaulted or raped at some point in their life, and 40% have been the victim of some kind of sexual violence while in New Mexico in the past year, according to a report published Wednesday.

Researchers from the Catherine Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine set out to understand how often people in New Mexico become victims of sexual violence, how often they report it and how often they seek help.

They surveyed 1,272 people between September 2023 and June 2024, and 54% of the people who responded said they had either been raped or sexually assaulted within their lifetime. “This rate translates to more than 1.1 million New Mexico residents,” the authors wrote.

The findings mark the first new New Mexico sexual violence crime victimization survey data in nearly two decades, the authors wrote. The last one was conducted between 2005 and 2006.

Researchers collected the data for the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, a nonprofit that provides technical assistance to more than 60 sexual assault service providers, sexual assault nurse examiners, child advocacy centers and community mental health centers.

In an interview with Source, Alexandria Taylor, the coalition’s executive director, said she thinks a lack of funding is the primary explanation for why it’s been so long since the last survey.

Taylor said the findings validate and quantify what she has known anecdotally for years: sexual assault is present in many people’s lives.

“All of our service providers, whether it’s our substance use treatment centers, our schools, our places of employment — even our places of incarceration — they’re all serving survivors of sexual assault,” she said.

Rachel Cox, the coalition’s deputy director of programs, told Source she was surprised the report gave her some hope they can actually address the prevalence of sexual assault, because it shows neither victims nor perpetrators of sexual violence are exceptional.

“We’re really talking about something that vicariously impacts everyone in New Mexico,” she said.

While counts of sexual violence victims commonly derived from service organizations and police reports are informative, they are also “certainly undercounts,” the report states.

Researchers asked New Mexicans about their experiences with four kinds of sexual violence: stalking, rape, sexual assault and domestic violence. Forty percent said they had been the victim of at least one of these crimes within the last 12 months while they were in New Mexico.

The research was funded by the Crime Victims Reparation Commission, a state agency that helps crime victims recover losses resulting from being victimized, and provides federal grants to other organizations serving them.

In a news release attached to the report, the coalition outlined its priorities for the upcoming legislative session to boost support for survivors and evidence-based prevention education.

The group plans to ask the Legislature to set aside $3 million to the Department of Health for prevention initiatives, $2 million to the Health Care Authority for medical and counseling needs, and $2 million to the Crime Victims Reparation Commission for providers and the New Mexico Sexual Assault Helpline.

The report also noted that 68% of victims of sexual assault and 75% of victims of rape did not seek support.

State law prohibits reparations to people victimized in prison

As researchers conducted the survey, they also sought to find disparities between demographic groups.

For example, people who have been incarcerated have the highest overall rate of victimization: 69%. They were also more likely to have been the victim of stalking than any other group.

Formerly incarcerated New Mexicans were also less likely to seek victim services, and more likely to have experienced “significant problems” with their job or schoolwork as a result of being victimized, the researchers found.

The group with the next highest rate of victimization was homeless people, at 68%.

Taylor said people who are most systemically impacted either have experienced sexual violence or are at greater risk of experiencing it. Cox said incarcerated and unhoused people can be some of the most invisible in society.

The findings are notable, in part, because New Mexico law does not allow reparations to people who were victimized while they were incarcerated. Taylor said it can’t be ignored that people who do harm and end up incarcerated have also themselves experienced harm and need healing.

“That’s where we have to use what we know from the individual level to impact things at the policy level,” she said.

Transgender or nonbinary people were more likely than cisgender people to have been raped, and Black respondents were more likely than other races to have been raped.

Perpetrators of rape were most commonly identified as casual acquaintances of the victims, at 34%; followed by a former partner or spouse, 30%; a current partner or spouse, 23%, and finally a stranger, 22%.

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New Mexico

Texas man charged with selling artist Fritz Scholder fakes to New Mexicans

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11 hours ago

January 7, 2026

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Texas man charged with selling artist Fritz Scholder fakes to New Mexicans

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New Mexico

Fourth Republican candidate announces bid for New Mexico governor

Published

23 hours ago

January 6, 2026

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Fourth Republican candidate announces bid for New Mexico governor

SANTA FE, N.M. — Former New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner Jim Ellison is running for governor as a Republican, he announced on social media Tuesday.

Ellison is running on affordability, opportunity and trust in government as the key points of his campaign. His experience includes serving on the NMPRC in 2023 and 2024.

“New Mexico deserves leadership that listens, acts, and delivers results. Our state has enormous potential, but too often that potential is held back by policies that don’t serve everyday New Mexicans,” he said on his website. “I’m running to bring practical solutions, honest accountability, and a renewed focus on the public interest.”

A Georgia native, Ellison has lived in New Mexico for 20 years and currently lives in the Albuquerque area with his wife and two children.

Ellison is aiming to get 5,000 signatures by Feb. 2, to appear on the primary ballot with at least three other Republicans who have announced their candidacy.

Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez announced his campaign in December and recently confirmed to KOB 4 that he received enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot. Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and New Mexico State Sen. Steve Lanier are also running.

Three Democrats are running – Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima.

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