May 24, 2024: Eighty-six percent (86%) of voters believe that a college student accused of rape should have the right to defend himself and tell his side of the story. A Scott Rasmussen national survey conducted by RMG Research found that just 10% say he should be disciplined because of the accusation.
Voters are divided about whether the bigger problem is victims being afraid to speak up (44%) or people being falsely accused of sexual assault (36%). Forty-six percent (46%) say that an alleged victim should be allowed to offer her testimony in a separate room, while 43% say she should be required to testify at an in-person hearing.
Methodology
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on May 8-9, 2024. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Note: Scott Rasmussen is the president of RMG Research, Inc. He hosts "The Scott Rasmussen Show" on Merit Street Media Sunday mornings at 10 Eastern.
Survey Questions
Suppose two college students meet at a party, go somewhere, and have sex. The next day, she says that she was raped, but he says it was consensual. Should the boy be disciplined because of the accusation, or should he have the right to defend himself and tell his side of the story?
- 10%-He should be disciplined because of the accusation
- 86%-He should have the right to defend himself and tell his side of the story
- 4%-Not sure
Which is the bigger problem in America today, victims of sexual assault being afraid to speak up, or people being falsely accused of sexual assault?
- 47%-Victims being afraid to speak up
- 36%-People being falsely accused
- 17%-Not sure
Should the girl be allowed to offer her testimony in a separate room or should she be required to testify at an in-person hearing?
- 46%-She should be allowed to offer her testimony in a separate room
- 43%-She should be required to testify at an in-person hearing
- 11%-Not sure
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is a political analyst, author, public speaker, independent public opinion pollster and a columnist. Read Scott Rasmussen's Reports — More Here.
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