Thank you for visiting the site & leaving a comment. I did not catch the original report which you linked to in your entry. I decided to take a look at it to see what the problem was.

I can see why you feel the way you do as the method used to get complaints was severely flawed. However even with saying that, I don’t think it is fair to call this a scare campaign. Statistics or not, one groping is one too many & should not happen.

I also factor in that women have a tendency to not report such incidents. The groping issue can be seen the same way rape is as far as how many women for their own reasons never report it, mostly due to embarrassment.

How do we know that the statistics are not closer to what was stated when there is a strong possibly victims have not reported their encounters?

While I can understand the point of confronting attacks, it is not as easy as WCBS made it seem. Many women are wired not to confront faced with situations like this & it will take more than a report to get them deprogrammed.

I am a man & I assume you are one as well so I can understand the anger involved. However our gender has its share of issues revolving around such lewd acts & I for one won’t get offended at a report calling those types of individuals out. I have a clear conscience.

Based on this shocking statistic, it would seem that there is an epidemic of male molesters running amok in the Big Apple’s underground. There’s only one problem – the statistic is totally unreliable.

As was previously reported more than a year ago by both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, the study’s methodology was fatally flawed. As a result, the 63% figure which has been so widely circulated likely grossly overstates the actual extent of the problem. This type of sensationalistic reporting has become so widespread that many don’t even question how improbable these statistics sound any more.

Undoubtedly, steps should be taken to deter the victimization of women on the subway. Rather than starting a scare campaign based on bogus statistics, however, it would be more constructive to promote a campaign based in fact, which encourages and empowers women to deter this type of behavior by forcefully confronting it. As noted in the WCBS story, the failure to confront offensive behavior only invites further attacks – whether on women in the subway, or on men in the media.