By Jess McCabe | 23 February 2007, 12:27

There has been a decline in the number of rape allegations and convictions among young women and men in the US, the LA Times reports.

While questions remain about the reliability of the figures, the LA Times makes an explicit link between the drop in rape crime and the advancement of women:

The most likely explanation involves impressive generational developments. In 1970, women made up one-third of all college students (versus 57% today), earned about one-fourth of all young-adult income (versus nearly half today) and made up small fractions of doctors and lawyers (versus majorities of new entrants into these fields now). Women’s rapidly rising status and economic independence in the larger society fostered new attitudes and laws that rejected violence against women.

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