A study of sexual assault released by the federal government on Thursday challenges conventional wisdom about the heightened danger on college campuses, finding that women there are less likely than nonstudents to be victims. College women are also less likely, the study found, to report the incidents to the police.
The rate of rape and other sexual assault over the past two decades was 1.2 times higher for nonstudents of college age than for students, according to the study, by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. It showed an average of 7.6 cases per 1,000 nonstudents, compared with 6.1 per 1,000 college women. For the most recent year, 2013, those rates were almost identical, according to the study, which focuses on women ages 18 to 24.
The incidence of rape and other sexual assault has declined for college students, to 4.4 per 1,000 in 2013 from 9.2 per 1,000 in 1997. The researchers who conducted the study, however, said that the decline was not statistically significant.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/article/Study-Challenges-Notion-That/150817