@maxdancona,
Quote:I haven't seen a study that gives any definitive number of the number of women who are raped.
There is no way to get a definitive number, unless all rapes are reported, and unless all rapists are prosecuted, on a continuous basis.
And we cannot survey the entire population to obtain the data in other ways. And it's not a static number, people are being raped every day.
Why do you need a "definitive number"? We aren't talking about something in the abstract--those numbers represent human lives that have been affected by sexual assaults and rapes, real human beings. Is it any better if the numbers indicate 1 in 10 or 1 in 20? Does that mean rape or sexual assault isn't a significant problem?
We've had decades of research on the prevalence of sexual assault and rape, all of which find numbers of such
crimes too acceptably high, and all of which acknowledge that underreporting is a significant problem.
The results of these surveys are definitely influenced by types of questions asked, how they are worded, how the information was collected, the sample population, when the survey was done, etc. and the conclusions should be considered in that context. They can all be equally valid estimates, given the methodology employed. That one study reported a 1 in 5 estimate of rape, and another 1 in 4, and still another 1 in 6, is largely irrelevant--no one claims there is an absolute "definitive number". Studies simply report what they find.
Quote:My objection is to people are pushing a definitive answer for the number of women who are raped and pretending there is valid science behind it. To this, they are ignoring the flaws in the clearly politically motivated CDC study (while fixating on the flaws of any contradictory study).
The real answer is that no one knows, with any certainty, whether "1 in 5 women" are actually raped in their lifetimes. This is a political number, not a scientific one.
You seem to be the only one pushing for a 'definitive answer".
And you have yet to back up your assertion, in any way, that the CDC study is "clearly politically motivated" or that their findings of a 1 in 5 rape statistic were a "political number not a scientific one".
Meanwhile, the CDC did report the 1 in 5 statistic, which, again, makes everything you said in your opening post a flat out lie.
Quote:
The "1 in 5" figure being thrown around is scientific fiction.
The number is based on a flawed study in many aways.
1. The study was done one time, with no follow up.
2. The sample was taken from a very limited population (students on two college campuses) that was not representative of the society at large.
3. The study had a very low response rate. This greatly increases uncertainty because if people who were assaulted are more likely to respond to the study then the numbers are inaccurate. It isn't unreasonable to think that people who were victimized might be more likely to respond and people who weren't victims would be more likely to ignore it.
4. A woman would be counted as part of the 20% if someone had "rubbed up against her" in a sexual way.
None of the above is true--that does not describe the CDC study--and you've yet to even identify the alleged study you were talking about. Your whole premise for this thread was bogus.
