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comment by AnSionnachRua
AnSionnachRua  ·  3764 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: CDC survey results: 19.3 percent of women have been raped; 2 percent of men

Yep; from the link in the article:

    The specific types of sexual violence assessed included rape (completed or attempted forced penetration or alcohol- or drug-facilitated penetration) and sexual violence other than rape, including being made to penetrate a perpetrator, sexual coercion (nonphysically pressured unwanted penetration), unwanted sexual contact (e.g., kissing or fondling), and noncontact unwanted sexual experiences (e.g., being flashed or forced to view sexually explicit media).
It seems like a pretty contentious definition of rape.

From a discussion about a study on rape in college that also arrived at a 19% figure:

    In addition, the survey had a large non-response rate, with the clear possibility that those who had been victimized were more apt to have completed the questionnaire, resulting in an inflated prevalence figure.
Note that the response rate to the CDC survey was 33%.

    Moreover, the definition of sexual assault used in this and other studies was too broad, including unwanted touching and sexual encounters while intoxicated. A small percentage actually rose to the level of forcible rape. By lumping uninvited advances and alcohol/drug-influenced encounters together with forcible rape, the problem can appear more severe than it really is, creating alarm when cool heads are required.
Some people will probably argue that unwanted touching (and particularly intoxicated encounters) still count as rape. They're certainly not good, although I think counting unwanted touching as rape seriously denigrates our use of the term, and intoxicated encounters do blur things somewhat (not to victim-shame and suggest that women who drink are responsible for being raped or that drunk rapists are innocent).

Leaving out forced penetration does effectively define "rape" as male-perpetrated, though.

Still, rape is bad, even if it's not happening to 19% of the population. A lot of it comes down to what 'rape' really means. There's also the rather obvious fact that something doesn't have to be rape to be an immoral act, or potentially part of systemic discrimination.

I don't know.