edhall@randvax.ARPA (Ed Hall) (02/29/84)
------------------------------ I think that what I said was that one out of three women in Los Angeles will be raped in her lifetime, *not* that one out of three had already been raped. To give you an idea of the problem I've been having in getting statistics, the LA Times, within the past week or two, published a one out of ten chance for women nationwide and a one out of seven chance in LA. This was contradicted by its statement that the rape rate in LA was two or three times the national average; a little arithmetic shows that at least one of these numbers is wrong. I've found several other references, and they seem to offer divergent estimates of the problem. But I'll present some for the net, and I hope soon. I have a friend who is an expert on family violence and violence against women. She has her PhD in sociology, has written several books (more scholarly than popular), and more than once has testified before the US Congress on the problem of family violence. I'm waiting to get her opinion on the various statistics around, along with her own opinions on the problem. She is usually incredibly busy, with several publications in development and a heavy teaching schedule, and we haven't managed to connect yet. -Ed Hall decvax!randvax!edhall
jeffw@tekecs.UUCP (Jeff Winslow) (03/03/84)
Some time ago, Ed Hall claimed he would offer documentation in
support of his contention that 1 of every 3 women in lA has been
raped. I haven't seen it yet. Did I miss something? Did I misread
your article, Ed?
I'm not claiming rape is rare or inconsequential or any such hogwash.
I just think that statistic is incredible, and I don't like to see
someone give a bogus sound of authenticity to something that shocking
by claiming references and then not producing them.
my complete apologies if I missed the relevant article.
the sleepy,
Jeff Winslowjeffw@tekecs.UUCP (Jeff Winslow) (03/04/84)
------------------------------
I think that what I said was that one out of three women in Los Angeles
will be raped in her lifetime, *not* that one out of three had already
been raped.
------------------------------
Huh? What's the difference? The only thing I can figure is that there is
a little game that goes like this: "The rape rate is increasing at
such-and-such a rate, the population of la is increasing at such-
and-such a (lesser) rate, therefore in 20 years..." I would prefer
to stick with what is known rather than alarmist speculations on
the future.
I agree that even a 1 in 15 rate is disgusting, however nothing is
accomplished but a loss of credibility by making it sound worse
than it is with statistical games.
If I am wrong, please correct me.
Jeff Winslow