Troubling study finds rape incidents are far higher than reported by the U.S. Census Bureau

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/19/troubling-study-finds-rape-incidents-are-far-higher-than-reported-by-the-u-s-census-bureau/



Troubling study finds rape incidents are far higher than reported by the U.S. Census Bureau
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 13:33 EST

The incidence of sexual violence is likely sharply underreported in a closely-watched barometer of US crime because of the way it’s designed, an expert panel said Tuesday.

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), conducted by the US Census Bureau for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, put the number of rapes and sexual assaults at 346,830 in 2012, up from 244,190 the previous year.

But other surveys suggest the number is far higher, as high as 1.3 million in a year, according to one 2010 estimate by the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey from the Centers for Disease Control.

In its report Tuesday, the National Research Council panel said a lack of privacy when conducting oral interviews in households might be a reason for the lower figures in the NCVS.