From today’s Chronicle at Duke:
The retraction of an assault that reportedly occurred Oct. 22 near the Duke Forest is deeply concerning. The retraction raises doubts about the truthfulness of an alleged 2002 sexual assault in Randolph Dormitory and brings to light broader questions about the attitudes toward sexual assault in the Duke community.
It is important to remain aware of the dangers of sexual assault and maintain a sense of vigilance and attentiveness. Recent events understandably raise skepticism, but in the wake of the retraction, the community must not disregard the serious issue of assault.
The editorial doesn’t make clear (although the audience probably knows) that the person who retracted the Oct. 22 assault report is the same person who reported the 2002 assault.
Further down in the editorial:
One in four women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. Ninety percent of the time, the victim of sexual assault knows her assailant and 60 percent of assaults happen on dates. Date rape is a serious problem, particularly on college campuses, and discussions about sexual assault and ways to prevent it are important.
The original (and fallacious) one-in-four statistic was for college-aged women; this one, I note, is for “lifetime.” By now, “one-in-four” has become cant on campuses. One day last week there were two instances of this statistic being used (here and here).
