How many women have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault versus sexual harassment?

1. How many women are on the public lists — rough totals and why they differ

Different news organizations and researchers compile different totals because they use varying definitions (harassment vs. assault), include allegations of varying formality (public interviews, lawsuits, anonymous filings), and update over time; The Guardian and The Independent document many named accounts and incidents, while Axios and others reported "roughly 27" women by late 2024 ^{[5] [6] [2]}. Wikipedia’s compilation stated "at least 25 women" as of its latest snapshots; these numbers shift as new allegations surface, legal filings are made or dismissed, and reporting evolves ^[1].

2. Assault versus harassment — reporting distinctions and common muddiness

Major outlet timelines and scholarly overviews group allegations across a spectrum from non‑consensual kissing and groping to claims of rape, meaning "sexual assault" and "sexual harassment" are often mixed in public lists rather than separated into neat buckets ^{[5] [7]}. For example, many accounts describe "groping" or forced kissing (often characterized as assault by the accusers and reporters), while other entries describe workplace or campaign‑era harassment; outlets sometimes use umbrella terms like "sexual misconduct" to cover both ^{[5] [8]}.

3. Legal outcomes — one civil finding, many public allegations

Despite dozens of public accusations, the only high‑profile court finding to date is the civil jury verdict that found Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll and for defamation, resulting in a multi‑million‑dollar judgment affirmed on appeal ^{[3] [9] [4]}. Reporting notes that Carroll’s case included testimony from two other women who alleged similar abuse and that judges allowed that testimony — a factor the appeals court upheld ^{[9] [10]}. Available sources do not report a separate criminal conviction for sexual assault of Trump ^{[3] [4]}.

4. Examples often cited and why they matter

Prominent allegations that recur in timelines include E. Jean Carroll’s rape/assault claim, multiple accounts of groping or forced kissing (e.g., Amy Dorris’s US Open allegation), and earlier claims tied to Jeffrey Epstein circles (some civil suits were filed then dismissed or withdrawn) ^{[3] [5] [11]}. These individual accounts inform media tallies and public perception; some were litigated civilly, some were backed by contemporaneous corroboration reported by journalists, and others were not pursued in court or were withdrawn — which reporters explicitly note ^{[5] [11]}.

5. Why exact counts are inherently uncertain

Compilers differ on inclusion criteria: whether to count anonymous lawsuits that were later dismissed, whether to include incidents described in books or off‑the‑record claims, and whether to count repeated allegations by the same person as one or multiple incidents ^{[6] [7]}. Political context also matters — many accounts arose during heated campaign periods and have been framed by both critics and defenders in politically inflected ways; outlets often state denials from Trump and his spokespeople alongside the allegations ^{[5] [12]}.

6. What the public record proves and what it doesn’t

The public record, per major outlets, proves there are dozens of publicly reported allegations and one civil jury finding of sexual abuse (E. Jean Carroll) upheld on appeal; that is the concrete legal milestone reported ^{[3] [4]}. Available sources do not provide a single authoritative, fixed number splitting "sexual assault" versus "sexual harassment" that is agreed across major compendia — instead, journalists and researchers offer overlapping tallies (e.g., ~25, ~27, "more than a dozen") that reflect their methodology ^{[1] [2] [12]}.

7. Competing viewpoints and potential agendas in the counts

Pro‑Trump voices emphasize legal outcomes and denials, arguing the absence of criminal convictions undermines the allegations; critics and advocacy groups highlight the volume and consistency of reports as evidence of a pattern and call attention to civil findings and corroborating testimony ^{[3] [13]}. Some academic and advocacy pieces argue for systemic inquiry into persistent allegations and for considering patterns rather than single cases; such calls reflect an agenda to push for institutional accountability beyond individual litigation ^{[7] [13]}.

8. Bottom line for readers seeking numbers

If you need a single working figure from these sources: multiple reputable outlets cite roughly two dozen to about 27 women who have publicly accused Trump of some form of sexual misconduct, with at least one civil finding of sexual abuse (E. Jean Carroll) in the public record ^{[2] [3]}. Precise separation between “sexual assault” and “sexual harassment” is not consistently available in the cited compilations because of varying definitions and reporting choices ^{[5] [6]}.