December 5, 2014

Don’t Let the Rolling Stone Controversy Distract You From the Campus Rape Epidemic

1 in 5 women is sexually assaulted in college. Just 1 percent of attackers are punished.

Protestors in front of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house at the University of Virginia.

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Questions continue to mount about the veracity of the explosive Rolling Stone article on an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia. On Friday, the UVA fraternity allegedly involved released a statement disputing details of the story, and Rolling Stone published a note to readers acknowledging that it had failed to adequately vet the story.

Nevertheless, the serious problem with sexual assault on America’s college campuses cannot be denied, as the data below shows. (For more details on the research cited here, read the original version of this article.)

This article has been updated.

Sources

“1 in 5 undergraduate women…”: Christopher P. Krebs, Christine H. Lindquist, Tara D. Warner, Bonnie S. Fisher, and Sandra L. Martin; “College Women’s Experiences with Physically Forced, Alcohol- or Other Drug-Enabled, and Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault Before and Since Entering College” (link)

“Of the undergraduate women who are sexually assaulted while in college…”: Christopher P. Krebs, Christine H. Lindquist, Tara D. Warner, Bonnie S. Fisher, and Sandra L. Martin for the National Institute of Justice; “The Campus Sexual Assault Survey” (PDF)

“Women are more likely to be sexually assaulted…”: “The Campus Sexual Assault Survey” (PDF)

“4 percent of undergraduate men…”: “The Campus Sexual Assault Survey” (PDF)

“2.5 percentof male undergrads admit…”: “The Campus Sexual Assault Survey” (PDF)

“63 percent of college men who admit…”: David Lisak and Paul M. Miller, “Repeat Rape and Multiple Offending Among Undetected Rapists” (PDF)

“85 percent of college sexual assault victims…”: “The Campus Sexual Assault Survey” (PDF)

“More than 1/4 of victims say…”: “The Campus Sexual Assault Survey” (PDF)

“Frat members who took part in a rape prevention program…”: John D. Foubert and Bradford C. Perry, “Creating Lasting Attitude and Behavior Change in Fraternity Members and Male Student Athletes” (PDF)

“Before college, sexual assault perpetration rates…”: John D. Foubert, Johnathan T. Newberry, and Jerry L. Tatum, “Behavior Differences Seven Months Later: Effects of a Rape Prevention Program” (link)

“4 percent of college sexual assault victims report…”: “The Campus Sexual Assault Survey” (PDF)

“Percentage of assailants who are disciplined…”: “The Campus Sexual Assault Survey” (PDF)

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate