Sexual crime statistics
object, 05 Sep 2005 12:37:09
The argument about harm is not made by the consultation document. This may be challenged by use of crime statistics. If the rise of the Internet from 1994 to present co-incided with a rise in sexual crime, then we would have a corrolation (NOT a causative link - my age corrolates with the price of bread, but doesn't cause it!).
I would not advocate that we try to use crime statistics as a basis for argument, but suggest that we need to be prepared to counter such use from 'the other side'.
The difficulty with using crime stat's are:
1. Underreporting of crimes to the police, especially crimes of a personal nature, and changes in reporting rates over time i.e. an apparent increase may just be an increase in reporting by the victims.
2. Change in definitions of crimes (e.g. simple possession of child porn was not a crime before 2001)
The British Crime Survey (BCS) overcomes the first problem, by actually surveying a random sample of about 22,000 people and asking about their crime experiences (reported and unreported). The report "Home Office Research Study 276. Domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking: Findings from the British Crime Survey" includes useful data, including (p.114 & 115):
Table 7.3 Prevalence of female rape from 1994, 1998, 2000 and 2001 BCS self completion studies
Percent victims once or more BCS
1994 1998 2000 20002 20013
Rape (since 16) 6.3 4.4 4.5 4.9 3.6 (4.5)
Rape (last year) . . . 0.4 0.3 (0.5)
The report concedes that there are methodological difficulties in interpreting the figures, however, over the last ten years (as use of the Internet has grown), the figures from the BCS suggest that actual experience of rape (and other sexual crimes) has fallen.
Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/hors276.pdf