New Justice Department numbers offer much-needed perspective on college rape

Article here. Excerpt:

'More than any other force, a single oft-repeated statistic has driven a national campaign against sexual assaults on college campuses. It holds that fully 20% of female students are victimized.

The figure suggests that bastions of higher learning are dangerous places akin to war zones.

Now, though, scrutiny of the research behind the statistic suggests confidence in its accuracy is misplaced. Based on a Web survey of students at just two schools, it counted even unwanted kisses and gropes as assaults.

A new Department of Justice report puts the number of college sexual assault and rape victims at six per 1,000 students — a rate lower than the frequency of victimization of nonstudents between 18 and 24 years old.
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Against this backdrop, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has co-sponsored a measure that would require schools to train sex-assault advisers, who would coordinate with cops on procedures for students seeking to press charges. But schools would still be prohibited from notifying police about reports of rapes or serious assaults.

Explaining why schools should not call police in the first instance, Gillibrand told colleagues at a hearing that cops are generally not to be trusted.
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Gillibrand’s co-sponsor, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, said at the hearing, “A crime of rape off campus and a crime of rape on campus ought to be treated the same way.”

But neither senator took the step that needs taking: Schools should be free to report rapes and sexual assaults, just as they do other felonies.'