Why Do Anti-Feminists Harp On Mary Koss's Rape Stats So Much?

Please read this excellent post by Barry at Alas, A Blog about how anti-feminists have skewed Mary Koss's rape statistics. He is much more knowledgable on the subject than I am.

Here's a sample.

What’s happened since? Well, a lot of studies - including three major nationwide studies - have replicated three of Koss’ major findings (that something in the range of 10% to 15% of American women are raped at some point in their lifetime; that the typical rapist is not a stranger to the victim; and that the vast majority of rapes are never reported to the police). All three of the studies were influenced by Koss’ earlier work, in my opinion. The BJS admitted that the survey instrument they used to measure rape back in 1991 was badly designed, and have revised their methods somewhat, although some problems remain. Koss’ work continues to be frequently cited in the peer-reviewed literature.

In short, Koss’ findings are widely accepted within the mainstream research community. Yet you’d never guess that from reading right-wing and anti-feminist literature; most anti-feminists who follow the issue believe that Koss has been entirely discredited. Why haven’t they given up already?

Yeah, why haven't they given up already? Because the goal of anti-feminists isn't to obtain accurate rape statistics. It's to minimize discussions about rape and to decrease help for rape victims. That's why they keep trotting out their misrepresentations about Koss as opposed to looking at more recent, peer-reviewed sources that not only replicate Koss's findings but show how much of a problem rape really is in this country.