Feds Count Gender Crimes, See Huge Increase

The U.S. Department of Justice has revised its methodology for tracking violent crimes, resulting in data that more accurately reflects the rates of gender-based crimes against American women. New data released Dec. 18 as part of the Bureau of Justice Statistics annual Crime Victimization Survey indicate much higher rates of sexual assault and domestic violence in 2007 compared to data from 2006, due to the change of methodology, including more personal interviews, increasing interviews in rural areas and new sampling methods. According to the new data, there was a 42 percent increase in domestic violence and a 25 percent increase in rape and sexual assault. A drop in the numbers of men killed by their intimate partners was also reported. Anti-violence advocates have long complained that the federal crime data--drawn from police reports as well as telephone surveys--under-report the rates of violent crimes against women. "The new numbers indicate that previously, the government significantly underestimated the number of individuals affected by domestic and sexual violence in this country," said Sarah Tofte, a researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch, in a press release. The new data reveals an urgent need to address gender-based violence, which remains a pervasive problem in U.S. society, Tofte noted. Human Rights Watch has called on the incoming Obama administration to appoint a special advisor on domestic violence; increase funding for treatment, prevention and intervention programs; conduct authoritative studies; and take other measures to address violent crime rates.