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flewellynI posted this on this blog, discussing the 17 year old Oregon girl who, after accusing her boyfriend and two of his friends of raping her, was convicted of filing a false police report; the apparent reasoning by the judge was that, since the prosecution couldn't find enough evidence that the rape had taken place, she was obviously lying. Several commenters on the blog proceeded to do the usual misogynist bashing of women, feminism, and the notion that rape actually happens all that often, and went off accusing women of lying about rape as often as 25% of the time.
Several other people, of course, took them to task for their nonsense, and cited actual statistics showing that the number of rape reports which turn out to be falsified is around 1.6%; nonetheless, I felt compelled to respond, thus:
Aside from the statistics cited above showing that women lie about rape charges in as few as 1.6% of reports, there is a simple, logical reason why assuming that women will lie about rape just doesn't make sense.
Look at what happens to a woman who accuses a man of raping her. Her name is dragged through the mud, her sexual history is questioned, she is slandered with all sorts of vile names by the defendant's supporters, lawyers, and by men of society at large. She is told that it was her fault, that she shouldn't have been doing whatever she was doing when her attacker raped her. She is accused of making it all up, of lying to be vengeful or (if the rapist is rich, such as Kobe Bryant) of seeking money. She faces long odds of getting a conviction; in Oregon, apparently 10% of reported rapes result in a conviction. Rape being one of the most underreported crimes there is, the real numbers are surely much higher.
She receives all kinds of "advice" from people which can be summed up as "don't have a social life, don't ever drink, don't go out of your house, and if you still get raped, it's still your fault". Her family and friends may well abandon her, or even turn against her. Her religious community may well turn their backs on her, as well.
Given all of this, what sort of logical reason would there be for women to lie about being raped? The 1.6% who apparently do, I would surmise, are probably mentally ill; otherwise, anyone sane would realize that accusing a man of rape is extremely difficult and has all kinds of social and psychological penalties, whether he is convicted or not. The man accused, or even convicted, of rape has many allies in society, many people trying to excuse what he did, or blame it all on the woman. Look at how many people today still think Desiree Washington was just a golddigger, even after Mike Tyson was, in fact, convicted.
Quite simply, sane people do not lie if there is no benefit to them in doing so. And the simple fact is, lying about rape has no benefit for women. So, given these facts...who would benefit from lying about rape? If it's not women, then who?
Several other people, of course, took them to task for their nonsense, and cited actual statistics showing that the number of rape reports which turn out to be falsified is around 1.6%; nonetheless, I felt compelled to respond, thus:
Aside from the statistics cited above showing that women lie about rape charges in as few as 1.6% of reports, there is a simple, logical reason why assuming that women will lie about rape just doesn't make sense.
Look at what happens to a woman who accuses a man of raping her. Her name is dragged through the mud, her sexual history is questioned, she is slandered with all sorts of vile names by the defendant's supporters, lawyers, and by men of society at large. She is told that it was her fault, that she shouldn't have been doing whatever she was doing when her attacker raped her. She is accused of making it all up, of lying to be vengeful or (if the rapist is rich, such as Kobe Bryant) of seeking money. She faces long odds of getting a conviction; in Oregon, apparently 10% of reported rapes result in a conviction. Rape being one of the most underreported crimes there is, the real numbers are surely much higher.
She receives all kinds of "advice" from people which can be summed up as "don't have a social life, don't ever drink, don't go out of your house, and if you still get raped, it's still your fault". Her family and friends may well abandon her, or even turn against her. Her religious community may well turn their backs on her, as well.
Given all of this, what sort of logical reason would there be for women to lie about being raped? The 1.6% who apparently do, I would surmise, are probably mentally ill; otherwise, anyone sane would realize that accusing a man of rape is extremely difficult and has all kinds of social and psychological penalties, whether he is convicted or not. The man accused, or even convicted, of rape has many allies in society, many people trying to excuse what he did, or blame it all on the woman. Look at how many people today still think Desiree Washington was just a golddigger, even after Mike Tyson was, in fact, convicted.
Quite simply, sane people do not lie if there is no benefit to them in doing so. And the simple fact is, lying about rape has no benefit for women. So, given these facts...who would benefit from lying about rape? If it's not women, then who?
Re: False Accusations of Rape
Date: 2006-01-26 02:58 am (UTC)My intentions were to share with others, like yourself, that there are cases where women have lied, and the effects their lies have on their accusers and their families. You will never unstand the pain in our life unless a simular situation personally effects you or someone you love. You can't even imagine the horror we've had to face in all of this. Just like a true rape vicitm, our entire families have suffered emotionally, physically, and financially. That is all the more reason why I will always fight for the "true victim" in any case.
I understand that our situation is rare, but it happened. Please don't misunderstand my stand on rape victims. I would be the first to "flip the switch" on someone who has violated any man, woman or child.
Last of all, I don't appreciate your tone with me, especially about "who am I anyway?" If I want to remain anonymous, what does it matter? I am a real person with thoughts and feelings just like you. I simply wanted to tell my story, but in no means insinuate there are not real victims out there. I am not personally attacking you or your views nor trying to challange any facts about rape victims.
Re: False Accusations of Rape
Date: 2006-01-26 03:55 am (UTC)My point was simply this: in any rape case, one of two things must be true. Either the man is lying when he denies that he committed the crime, or the woman is lying when she accuses him. Ignoring the statistics, which is more likely? Well, why do people lie? Sane people lie either to escape some punishment or bad outcome, or to gain something: either way, the desired consequences are of some benefit to them.
When a woman accuses a man of rape, the personal consequences for her are almost always emotionally, financially, and socially damaging to her; sometimes they are even physically damaging, either due to poor health brought on by stress, or to reprisals from others. A sane, non-mentally ill woman has no good reason to lie about being raped.
On the other hand, a man accused of rape who is guilty has every reason to lie: to escape punishment. This is a morally reprehensible thing to do, but it is a sane, rational response. He's still innocent until proven guilty, and I would not seek to change that; the problem is, as I said before, that our society and (often) our courts will acquit a man who is clearly guilty beyond all reasonable doubt. Whereas women, even though we know from the statistics that false accusations are extremely rare, will still be assumed to be lying by juries, judges, prosecutors, and police.
Because this belief is diametrically opposed to reality and reason, and because it denies justice to so many, it is a great evil that must be fought. That cause won't be served, and in fact will be hindered, by dwelling upon the tiny minority of false accusations, when so many true accusations are not taken seriously.
Re: False Accusations of Rape
Date: 2006-01-26 01:53 pm (UTC)You hit the nail on the head when you stated "one of them is lying". Obviously, it is more likely that a man would lie to escape punishment. Unfortunately for my family, she lied to escape punishment from her boyfriend. As far as her being mentally ill, I'm not sure I can buy that in her case. I'm sure the majority of false cases, the women are mentally challanged, but not always. Keep an open mind that men and women will lie to escape punishment, no matter who's looking to punish them.
To state that my story has "nothing to do with the discussion" would be completely untrue. Is this discussion about false accusations of rape? when is it rape? Clearly, I was reporting a single incident where a woman lied about rape.
I'm sure I will continue to stay outraged with the system in how they handle sexual assult cases for women and children.
Just so you understand, I personally know the fear of telling someone about being sexually assualted. I was a victim when I was a child. I can, and do, sympathize with assult victims. I would stand and fight with you for victims rights. Just as I hold animosity towards the man who violated me, I hold the same amount of animosity towards a man or women who would lie to protect themselves from punishment and destroy an innocent persons life.