Dive Brief:

• Some activists on the campus sexual assault issue say other statistics should be used instead of the oft-cited “one-in-five” statistic on the prevalence of sexual assaults on U.S. campuses, which comes from a 2007 survey of two colleges, Inside Higher Ed reported.
• The Campus Sexual Assault Study by the National Institute of Justice found that 19% of the female respondents reported experiencing an attempted or completed sexual assault since starting college, with sexual assault defined as including rape and forced kissing or fondling.
• The statistic has been cited multiple times by President Barack Obama, as well as Vice President Joe Biden, the U.S. Department of Education, Congressional leaders, the media, and student activists.

Dive Insight:

Critics hone in on the incorporation of forced kissing in the sexual assault definition, which sidetracks conversations on the issues, activists say. Other statistics on the topic have their own issues. Two examples: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had a survey concluding a one-in-five sexual assault rate for all women, not just those in college, and classified all sex while intoxicated as sexual assault. And a 2006 U.S. Justice Department survey reported a one-in-four rate for college women experiencing rape or attempted rape at any point in their lifetime.