One in Five? The White House's Questionable Sexual Assault Data

Article here. Excerpt:

In January, the White House announced the creation of a White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. On April 29, that task force came out with its first report, Not Alone, which is intended to “help schools live up to their obligation to protect students from sexual violence.” There is no doubt that sexual violence on campus is a serious problem that requires action. But it must be addressed in a way that also protects the rights of students being accused of these very serious offenses. Unfortunately, the Task Force Report will almost certainly worsen the already critical due process crisis on our college campuses.

Like so many discussions of campus sexual assault, the Task Force Report leads off with the shocking statement that “one in five women is sexually assaulted in college.” This figure has become an article of faith among those calling for greater government intervention into colleges’ handling of sexual assault claims: President Obama cited it when he announced the creation of the task force back in January, and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights cited it in the April 4, 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter requiring colleges to use a “preponderance of the evidence” (more likely than not) standard when adjudicating claims of sexual harassment or sexual violence.

But this figure, which comes from the 2007 Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) Study, is hardly undisputed.'