New Study Shatters Long-Held Myth About Campus Sexual Assault Rates

For more than a decade, the phrase “1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted in college” has echoed through headlines, congressional hearings, and campus workshops across the country. It’s been used to justify sweeping Title IX enforcement, federal intervention in university affairs, and the erosion of basic due process rights for students — particularly young men.

But now, a new in-depth study has exposed what many conservatives and honest researchers have been saying for years: that statistic was never rooted in rigorous data, and it painted a deeply distorted picture of what’s happening on American campuses.
The study, conducted by researchers who reviewed years of incident reports, surveys, and legal outcomes, finds that the real rate of campus sexual assault is far lower than the widely cited “1 in 5” claim. While any act of sexual violence is unacceptable and must be taken seriously, inflating the numbers for political or ideological reasons does real damage — not only to the falsely accused but to the credibility of actual victims.

The “1 in 5” statistic came largely from small, self-reported surveys with broad definitions of assault that included anything from unwanted touching to ambiguous regret after consensual encounters. These surveys were then amplified by activist organizations and media outlets, often without context or scrutiny.

The damage of that narrative has been profound.

Thousands of young men have been dragged through biased campus judicial systems that deny them the presumption of innocence, the right to legal representation, or even the ability to see the evidence against them. Some were suspended or expelled based on little more than an accusation — their futures derailed before ever seeing a courtroom.

At the same time, the culture of fear has transformed many campuses into environments of suspicion and ideology, where natural social interaction is treated with hostility and male students are viewed as potential predators from day one.

Conservative voices have long sounded the alarm about this imbalance. Groups advocating for due process rights were often dismissed as insensitive or reactionary. But the truth has a way of resurfacing.

This new study doesn’t deny that sexual violence exists. It doesn’t excuse bad behavior. What it does is return the conversation to reality — a place where facts matter, and solutions must be based on truth, not hype
.
Sexual assault is a serious crime. It should be investigated by law enforcement, not campus bureaucrats with ideological agendas. Victims deserve justice — and so do the wrongly accused. That balance is what a fair society demands.

Unfortunately, the false “1 in 5” claim has done enormous damage. It’s created policies that assume guilt, foster division between men and women, and fuel a victimhood culture where personal responsibility is minimized and sweeping generalizations are the norm.
The study’s findings should be a wake-up call to policymakers, university administrators, and journalists. We must stop basing national policy on slogans and start demanding honest data and due process. Because when the goal becomes narrative control instead of truth, everyone loses.

In the end, protecting the innocent — both victims and the accused — requires one thing above all: courage. Courage to face facts, challenge political orthodoxy, and restore common sense to a conversation that desperately needs it.