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How many women have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault or rape as of 2025?
Executive Summary
As of 2025, public reporting shows multiple, differing tallies of women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, with counts ranging widely because of differences in definitions and inclusion criteria; contemporaneous sources and summaries place the number at at least 26–28 in conservative tallies and up to 67–69 in broader compilations that include a wider range of misconduct allegations [1] [2] [3]. Major legal developments, notably E. Jean Carroll’s civil victories and continuing news reports of new accusers through 2024, have kept the count fluid and amplified renewed attention to both specific cases and aggregate totals [4] [5] [6].
1. Count Claims Collide: Why reports list different totals
News outlets and compilations report different totals because they apply varied criteria for inclusion: some count only allegations described as sexual assault or rape, others include groping, harassment, and unwanted touching, and still others tally every person who has publicly accused Trump of any sexual misconduct. For example, longstanding compilations from 2017 list 26 women accused of sexual misconduct [1], while mid-2024 updates and summaries that incorporate later allegations report 27–28 accusers [6] [7]. Contrastingly, some outlets and researchers use broader definitions that include a wider set of behaviors and public accusations, producing the much larger figure of 69 women reported in a 2024 piece [3]. These differences reflect methodological choices—what counts as “sexual assault,” what counts as a public allegation, and whether threats, harassment, or non-consensual touching are grouped together [8] [3].
2. Legal milestones that anchor the debate
Court actions and verdicts have shaped the public record and clarified some allegations while leaving others unresolved. E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit and the related defamation verdicts culminating in an upheld damages award highlighted a concrete legal outcome tied to her accusation of sexual assault that she says occurred in the 1990s; the ruling reinforced that certain claims have moved beyond allegation into legal determination, though criminal charges were not part of that civil finding [4]. Other accusers have not pursued or completed similar civil or criminal cases, and several high-profile claims reported through 2024 and 2025 have remained in the journalistic rather than judicial domain, which contributes to discrepancies in counting across outlets [5] [6].
3. New allegations and reporting through 2024 changed the tally
A spate of reporting in late 2024 added public allegations—most prominently reporting on a 1993 groping allegation by Stacey Williams—prompting several outlets to update their counts and push conservative tallies from the mid-20s into the high 20s [5] [6]. Outlets that updated lists after those reports published new totals such as 27 accusers [6] or referenced updated compilations that included additional women who came forward. These contemporaneous journalistic updates show that the public tally is dynamic, with media organizations revising lists as new allegations are published or as previously private accusers go public [5] [6].
4. Why some tallies swell to dozens more—definitions and agendas
The larger totals—such as the headline figure of 69 women—derive from inclusive methodologies that count a broad spectrum of behaviors labeled as sexual misconduct, often aggregating historical accusations, harassment claims, and instances described as attempted assault or unwanted touching [3]. Such compilations can serve different purposes: they map the spectrum and scale of allegations for advocacy or historical record, but they can also be framed by outlets or commentators to emphasize systemic patterns or political points. Conversely, more conservative lists that report numbers in the mid-20s often restrict inclusion to public accusations characterized specifically as assault or to cases widely documented before 2018 [1] [2]. Both approaches are factual within their methodological frames, yet they yield very different headlines and public impressions [3] [1].
5. Best current reading and key caveats for readers
The most defensible summary for readers seeking a single figure is that at least two dozen women have publicly accused Trump of sexual assault, rape, or other forms of sexual misconduct, with well-documented compilations from 2017–2024 supporting a baseline of 26–28 and broader counts reaching into the dozens or higher depending on inclusion rules [1] [6] [3]. Important caveats: legal outcomes vary (some allegations involved civil rulings, most have not been adjudicated criminally), reporting continues to evolve, and different outlets’ counts reflect deliberate methodological choices rather than simple errors [4] [3] [2]. Readers should consult specific lists and their stated criteria when comparing tallies to understand precisely which allegations are being counted [1] [6].