In a recent Review editorial, Review editor Alex Katz opines about the issue of sexual assault on the Stanford campus. He mostly focuses on the issues surrounding counting sexual assault, such as the fact that cross campus comparisons are impossible due to the hugely differing residential settings of different schools. However, his editorial misses a chance to expound on a key way to make Stanford’s campus a safer, healthier place to live. In his editorial he mentions that:
Third, educational initiatives aimed at increasing that reporting rate may inadvertently increase the number of reports of sexual assault.
I wouldn’t call this result “inadvertent.” Educational initiatives that encourage people who fear that they have been assaulted to come forward will increase the reporting rate. While this may, unfortunately, give the false impression that campus is becoming more dangerous (when in fact, as Alex notes, it’s merely a function of increasing the reporting rate up from a sad 10 percent), I think that it’s clear that having a higher reporting rate is most definitely an improvement. The more people that report sexual assault, the more likely that someone will be willing to testify. In some cases, due to the presence of alcohol and fuzzy memories, it’s (unfortunately) necessary to have multiple people come forward about one individual in order to have the police willing to prosecute. Too often, if the prosecution is unable to show a history of sexual violence, the perpetrator is able to walk, shielded by the defense of uncertainty, that perhaps the victim was “inviting” the behavior or that perhaps the girl really was so drunk that she “doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
Graph of Sexual Assault Over Time (Credit: Stanford Daily)
An interesting way to look at whether the “upward trend” noted by the Daily article that Alex mentioned (note: see Alex’s piece or the Daily article for the explanation about 2003) is a result of an increase in reporting would perhaps be to look for any change in the number of prosecutions. A disproportionate increase in the number of prosecutions would indicate (i.e. the number of prosecutions increased by a higher percent that the number of assaults), in my eyes at least, that there had been an increase in reporting, not necessarily in assaults committed, as only if there were more people coming forward (perhaps about the same offender), and more people willing to testify (in a more open, accepting environment) could such an increase be possible. Flat prosecution numbers would indicate that overall sexual assault might actually be on the rise, as it would indicate that no critical mass of accusers had appeared around one offender or that the environment was still one where even those who came forward were unwilling to pursue a case against their assaulter.
Creating a community where people are unafraid to step forward about any instance of sexual violence is thus absolutely imperative. Many perpetrators of sexual assault are serial offenders and it is important that they not only be expelled from the Stanford community so that they do no more harm here, but also that they face legal sanctions. Only continued campaigns to encourage people to come forward can achieve this result.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
As founder of the world’s leading site devoted to giving voice to persons falsely accused of rape and sexual assault, False Rape Society, I find your piece offensive to the presumed innocent, who too often turn out to have been wrongly accused. For example, you write: “Too often, if the prosecution is unable to show a history of sexual violence, the perpetrator is able to walk, shielded by the defense of uncertainty . . . .”
Transpose your assertion to any other alleged crime, preferably one that is not so terribly gender politicized, and your statement is patently morally grotesque in its willingness to dispense with the presumption of innocence. How dare you assume that an allegation that is shrouded in uncertainty MUST have been sexual assault merely by virtue of the accusation.
I am thoroughly familiar with every serious study ever conducted on the prevalence of false rape claims. Rape is a serious problem. False rape claims are also a serious problem. One need not pretend the latter are myths to combat and raise awareness about the former. But the standard gender feminist assertion that only two percent of all rape claims are false was thoroughly debunked long ago. An entire law review article traced it to its baseless origins. The number cannot be stated with certainty, but it’s significant.
By refusing even to account for the possibility that uncertain rape claims may not have been actual rapes, you manifest an insurmountable bias that renders your piece unworthy of serious consideration and no better than a gender feminist ideological rant, wholly lacking in crediblity.
Obviously, no one wants to see false accusations. The Duke Lacrosse case of several years ago is a prime example of the problems that can arise from false accusations of rape. However, to your concern, I have two points to make. The first is that a successful rape prosecution still generally requires a high bar of evidence. The first key is that the woman be checked to show forcible penetration and, often, signs of struggle, like ligature marks. Faking those is not an easy task and increased reporting should not change that fact.
Second, increased reporting would allow the police to rely more on looking at patterns of sexual assault. One case, even with some supporting evidence, might not be sufficient to prosecute if drugs or alcohol were involved, but with increased reporting, the police could easily focus on the cases that were most likely to have been real, as in those cases, we would expect to see a number of accusations against one person. This is not to say that lone cases would not be prosecuted (we do not wish to condone one-time sexual assault any more than multiple counts), but they could be subject to increased scrutiny to reduce the chance of false accusations.
Finally, I should emphasize that this piece is about Stanford, and the Stanford campus, not a general piece about sexual assault. I am willing to wager a very large sum of money that the rate of false sexual assault claims coming from Stanford is significantly lower than the national rate (I personally believe that the Stanford rate could be actually close to, or lower than, that 2 percent figure that you mentioned, even if the national rate is much higher). Students here are shooting high, trying to go places. Even though we all hope that the stigma of having been raped is at least much lessened, it is still existent and I can think of no one here who would be willing to potentially mortgage their future by putting out a false claim of rape.
Given that last point in particular, I think it is fair to say that the number of unpunished sexual offenders on the Stanford campus is likely at least an order of magnitude larger (probably more than one) than the number of falsely accused rapists. While I would never wish a false charge on anyone, I think that it is fair, in this case, to emphasize the plight of the victims who never see justice over the falsely accused.
Geez, Otis, there you go ruining your credibility even further.
First, you apparently miss the assymetry of rape accusations in their impact. “with increased reporting, the police could easily focus on the cases that were most likely to have been real, as in those cases, we would expect to see a number of accusations against one person. ”
That only works if false accusers are also tracked and subjected to the same sanctions; however, false accusers get a pass. You don’t see the Duke false accuser in jail or suffering the same ruinous legal fee destruction imposed on the young men she falsely accused. For that matter, a rape prosecution does not have to happen for the impact of a false accusation to ruin a young man’s life – the politically correct brigade will see that rough justice gets dealt without any foolishness about a presumption of innocence.
Next, we have this bit of sanctimonious idiocy:
” I am willing to wager a very large sum of money that the rate of false sexual assault claims coming from Stanford is significantly lower than the national rate (I personally believe that the Stanford rate could be actually close to, or lower than, that 2 percent figure that you mentioned, even if the national rate is much higher). Students here are shooting high, trying to go places. ”
What a gem: Stanford elitism as an intellectual free pass to assuming your own conclusion. Otis, if you are affiliated with Stanford that one bit of dialog is proof positive you can’t be trusted to reach sensible conclusions.
In point of fact, the Stanford community consists of humans who are just as flawed as everyone else. I know several attorneys in Palo Alto who make a good living defending Stanford types on the usual criminal charges, such as DUI.
Stanford people lie, cheat, steal, rape, abuse their children, need significant psychiatric care, and make false accusations of rape for pretty much the same reasons other humans do. They just usually can afford better lawyers and dress spiffier for trial. Oh, and they get to enjoy better weather while contemplating the terrible burden of not having gotten into Harvard.
As regards false rape accusations, evidence-based studies (as opposed to evidence-free politically correct opinions like the famous 2% figure evidence-averse imbeciles like to repeat) that have examined the matter indicate false rape accusations on campus could be 50% of all rape accusations.
There is no evidence Stanford students would be different from any other campus. They are young, they drink to excess, they hook up, they have the same problems with transitions to adulthood and in the case of high achievers, many of them have been so busy accumulating credentials to impress Stanford admissions elitists that they might not have had time to acquire the social skills with complex sexual situations perhaps acquired earlier in life by those who Otis disdains for, …what was his phrase?… not shooting so high.
Shame on you Otis. Rape is a terrible crime and false accusations of rape equally so, at Stanford or anywhere else.