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How many women have filed sexual assault lawsuits against Donald Trump?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows different tallies of women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct — commonly cited figures range from at least 16 to as many as 69, with several reputable outlets listing roughly 25–26 named accusers (e.g., Business Insider and multiple long-form summaries) [1] [2] [3]. Sources disagree about counting method and scope (some count only allegations of assault, some include harassment or defamation suits, some include later-revealed claims), so a single definitive number is not uniformly reported [4] [5].
1. The headline counts and why they differ
Different outlets give different totals because they use varying definitions (sexual assault vs. broader “misconduct”), include or exclude anonymous or legal actions, and update lists as new claims emerge; PBS’s June 2019 recap listed 16 women alleging sexual assault specifically [1], while Business Insider and several other outlets have counted around 26 named women accused of sexual misconduct [2] [6]. Opinion and feature pieces have pushed that range higher: a New York Times column cited by Baptist News suggested “as many as 69” women have accused Trump of some form of sexual misconduct, a figure that aggregates a much broader set of allegations and incidents [5].
2. Lawsuits vs. accusations: the narrower legal lens
When you restrict the question to formal lawsuits, far fewer cases emerge in the reporting. E. Jean Carroll’s defamation and later battery suits are the most prominent civil cases that proceeded to trial or verdict, and many other accusations never translated into criminal charges or long-running civil trials; Vice noted Carroll’s case may be the only sexual-assault allegation against Trump likely to be fully litigated in court [7]. Some plaintiffs have filed defamation suits tied to their public accusations [3] [4], but available sources do not provide a single consolidated count of how many separate plaintiffs have filed sexual-assault lawsuits specifically against Trump.
3. Named compilations: the 25–27 cluster
Multiple journalistic compilations converge near the mid‑20s. The Guardian, The Independent, and Business Insider published lists that center around 25–26 women who publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct, with some outlets noting a 27th accuser in late‑2024 [8] [2] [9]. These lists generally assemble named allegations going back decades and treat “sexual misconduct” as an umbrella that includes unwanted groping, forced kissing, and, in some accounts, rape — which explains why their totals are similar even if their exact inclusions differ [8] [10].
4. Older and narrower tallies: why PBS and ABC differ
Earlier or more conservative tallies used narrower criteria or pre‑dated later revelations. PBS’s 2019 recap cited 16 women alleging sexual assault specifically, reflecting reporting up to that moment and a focus on allegations meeting certain descriptions [1]. ABC News in 2020 reported “at least 18” women with allegations ranging from harassment to assault [4]. These figures reflect both timing and editorial decisions about which allegations to count.
5. Aggregators and investigative books broaden the picture
Investigative books and large aggregations have produced more expansive totals by cataloguing dozens of incidents, interviews, and episodes of unwanted sexual behavior; for instance, reporting tied to the book All the President’s Women notes 26 incidents of “unwanted sexual contact” and dozens more instances of inappropriate behavior, which some outlets summarize as dozens or “nearly two dozen” accusers depending on framing [11] [10]. Those projects tend to include incidents that fall short of formal legal claims but are treated as part of a pattern.
6. Why a single, authoritative number is elusive
There is no single authoritative public count in the supplied reporting because (a) outlets use different inclusion rules; (b) some allegations are anonymous or were withdrawn; (c) some accusers pursued civil suits while others only went public; and (d) reporting has continued to update the lists over years, producing higher totals in later accounts [3] [5] [9]. Available sources do not give a definitive, up‑to‑date tally that distinguishes “filed lawsuits” from “public accusations” in one consolidated figure.
7. How to interpret the range and what it means legally and politically
Counts matter politically but mean different things legally: a larger number of public accusations can shape public perception and media narratives, while only a subset became civil litigation or criminal investigation, and even fewer reached trials or verdicts [7] [2]. Reporting emphasizes both the persistent denials from Trump and his camp and the differing evidentiary and legal pathways for each allegation; outlets highlight that most allegations never resulted in criminal prosecution and that civil suits remain the chief legal avenue for accusers [7] [4].
8. Bottom line and recommended next steps for a precise answer
If you need a precise number of “women who have filed sexual assault lawsuits against Donald Trump” as opposed to “women who have accused him,” available sources do not provide a single consolidated count distinguishing filings from public accusations; reporting mostly lists public accusers (ranging commonly 16–26, and in some aggregations much higher) [1] [2] [5]. To get a legally specific figure, consult court records or a detailed legal database to tally plaintiffs who have explicitly filed civil sexual‑assault suits against Trump; the supplied reporting summarizes public allegations and notable lawsuits but does not supply that definitive legal tabulation [3] [7].