Jasia Strong

April 1, 2024

ENG 2010

Professor Katy Whittingham

The Utah Snapshot

Ashley- Good morning listeners, we hope you are having an amazing day. I’m your host Ashley

on the “Utah Snapshot” Podcast, where we talk all things Utah to keep you updated on your

communities. Today on the podcast we have Julie Adams, nursing student at Salt Lake

Community College and local Utah resident. She is here to talk about a recent rise in assault

numbers here in Utah and what resources are available to our community.

Julie- Yes, thank you for having me. I’m excited to talk about this and get the word out there!

Ashley- Just to get our listeners up to speed, what is happening here in Utah in regard to assault

and crime?

Julie- When you think of Utah you probably think of quiet residential towns that are very safe.

And for the most part that is true, but a recent research article entitled “Sexual Assault Among

Utah Women: A 2022 Update” published by the Utah Women and Leadership Project found that

in Utah, rape is the only violent crime with rates higher than the national average. In the same

article, they mentioned the fact that one in three Utah women have experienced sexual assault in

their lifetime, and one in six Utah women have experienced rape.
Ashley- Wow, those are some pretty scary numbers. Why is this happening here in Utah? Are

there specific factors that are making people more at risk?

Julie- Yes, there are. Here in Utah we are currently experiencing one of the worst housing crisis

in America. Behind California, the housing prices here in Utah are the highest in America. What

really adds to the problem is the average household income has not changed. The reason this is a

problem for this specific issue is because almost one quarter of victims did not have a permanent

address, indicating homelessness or lower socioeconomic status (SES).

Ashley- We know that the housing issue is a really hot topic here in Utah, but it’s interesting to

see the effects trickling down in all aspects of our communities.

Julie- Right, it really does impact the community in lots of different ways. In that same research

snapshot they mentioned that 76.6% of victims knew their aggressor, categorized as a date or

acquaintance. I wonder how many of these people were staying with their aggressor because they

had no other place to stay.

 Works Cited

Carlton, V. (2022). H.B. 82 and Utah’s Pursuit of Affordable Housing. Utah Bar Journal, 35(1),

41–42.

Utah Women and Leadership Project, “Utah Women Stats; Sexual Assault Among Utah

Women” Nov. 17, 2016

Susan R. Madsen, “Sexual Assault Among Utah Women” LinkedIn.com