Campus sexual assault: Bad statistics don't help victims | FACTUAL FEMINIST — Transcript

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1. 0:01For years, we have heard that that 1-in-4 or 1-in-5 college women are victims of rape
2. 0:05or sexual assault.
3. 0:07But the studies behind the statistic tended to be agenda driven and unscientific.
4. 0:12But now, according to hundreds of news stories, there’s a new, more comprehensive survey
5. 0:17that confirms epidemic levels of sexual predation on campus.
6. 0:22Could these researchers be right?
7. 0:24That’s coming up next on the Factual Feminist.
8. 0:27Last month, the Association of American Universities released the findings of its massive new report
9. 0:34on campus sexual assault.
10. 0:36The authors surveyed students at 27 colleges across the US and found that 23 percent of
11. 0:44female college seniors—nearly one in four—reported that they had experienced unwanted sexual
12. 0:50contact since entering college.
13. 0:52First, the survey was offered to 780,000 students, but only 150,000 students filled it out.
14. 1:00That’s a response rate of only 19%.
15. 1:03The authors caution in the study that estimates may be too high because of “non-response
16. 1:08bias”—that is, because students who have been sexually assaulted may be more likely
17. 1:14to fill out a survey about sexual assault than those who have not.
18. 1:17The authors also warn that their findings are “not representative” and should not
19. 1:21be extrapolated to anything outside their frame.
20. 1:26Like past surveys on campus sexual assault, respondents were not asked whether or not
21. 1:30they had ever been raped or sexually assaulted.
22. 1:32Such direct questions are known to yield low numbers of victimization.
23. 1:36Instead, the authors asked if students experienced a range of behaviors from forced penetration
24. 1:42to kissing to unwanted touching or grabbing.
25. 1:47If someone rubbed up against you in a sexual way at a party—that could count.
26. 1:51Using such definitions, the authors calculated the rate of college females experiencing unwanted
27. 1:56sexual contact at each of the schools surveyed.
28. 1:59The authors warn that it would be “over simplistic” or “misleading” to conclude
29. 2:04that 20-25% of students are victims of sexual assault nationwide according to their findings.
30. 2:09Well, that didn’t stop the media . “Unwanted sexual contact” became “sexual assault”—and
31. 2:14the journalists were off to the races.
32. 2:16But Jennifer Freyd, a professor at the University of Oregon and an expert on “trauma betrayal”
33. 2:17defends  the study.
34. 2:18She rejects the idea that the sample of students who responded was biased toward victims.
35. 2:19Wrong, says Freyd— “those who were sexually assaulted are more likely to avoid the survey.
36. 2:20In fact, she says, survivors of sexual violence know that avoidance is a hallmark of post-trauma
37. 2:21response.”
38. 2:22She could be right.
39. 2:23But there is another factor that undermines the report that she is forgetting--call it
40. 2:24advocacy bias.
41. 2:25At nearly every college in the country there are impassioned rape culture advocates deeply
42. 2:26invested in the outcome of such surveys.
43. 2:27My guess is that these activists would fill out the survey with the same fervor that they
44. 2:28carry out their protests.
45. 2:29It’s far from perfect, but the best data we have on sexual assault comes from the Justice
46. 2:30Department, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
47. 2:31It find that approximately 1 in 53 women will be victims of rape or sexual assault while
48. 2:33in college.
49. 2:35That is still too many victims—but it’s vastly different from 1 in 4.
50. 2:39And according to the latest data from the FBI, the US rape rate fell to a 41 year
51. 2:44low in 2014.
52. 2:45And even though politicians, journalists,
53. 2:48and celebrities are fixated on the supposed campus rape epidemic, females are who are
54. 2:54not enrolled in college are actually more likely to be victims of sexual violence than
55. 2:58college women.
56. 3:00The Factual Feminist verdict?
57. 3:03As its own authors admit, the new campus rape survey is flawed, it asked vaguely worded
58. 3:08questions to a non representative sample of students who chose to participate.
59. 3:12It is also likely to suffer from advocacy bias.
60. 3:13Rape culture politics have not only brought panic to the campus, they may have made it
61. 3:15impossible to carry out meaningful research.
62. 3:16This is unfortunate, because even though activists often exaggerate the numbers, sexual assault
63. 3:20on campus is a serious problem.
64. 3:22There are victims on campus who need protection.
65. 3:24We badly need better policies and practices.
66. 3:28Misleading research undermines that effort.
67. 3:32Do you think I am right to suggest that activists might use the surveys as a political weapon
68. 3:36to advance their cause?
69. 3:38Let me know in the comments.
70. 3:40And if you found this video useful, please show your support by subscribing to the series.
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72. 3:46And please, follow me on Twitter.