How often is a accusation of rape false? Made for revenge, blackmail, etc?

[NineSpine]

It isn't as damaging to a male victim as the Internet would have you believe. Its only the most extreme cases of court idiocy that get documented, often from the perspective of the helpless male victim - and his life is usually roughed up pretty bad (again, from the idiotic court). False rape claims are low, and they're well investigated (hopefully the majority of times) before making an arrest.

Nothing you said has any basis in reality. In fact, most of it is the opposite of the real world.

[Independent voter]

wikipedia.org False_accusation_of_rape

"A study of 812 rape accusations made to police in Victoria Australia between 2000 and 2003 found that 2.1% were ultimately classified by police as false, with the complainants then charged or threatened with charges for filing a false police report."

These were accusations that the police determined were false after an investigation. So that's like 1 out of 50.

[Al Gorefiend]

Nothing you said has any basis in reality. In fact, most of it is the opposite of the real world.

I'm not challenging the notion that false rape claims that go to full blows aren't devastating. OP asked how often false accusations happen - more rare than actual rape. These false rape claims do not ALWAYS lead to serious consequences instantaneously.

I felt it needed to be said, as a lot of virgins, teens and socially unaware people tend to think women have this Life Destroy button they can willingly press at any time if you have sex with them or even if you don't.

Just like with any crime, there is -usually- an investigation before an arrest. What good court goes by hearsay?

[NineSpine]

wikipedia.org False_accusation_of_rape

"A study of 812 rape accusations made to police in Victoria Australia between 2000 and 2003 found that 2.1% were ultimately classified by police as false, with the complainants then charged or threatened with charges for filing a false police report."

These were accusations that the police determined were false after an investigation. So that's like 1 out of 50.

That only counts charges which were pursued until the police could categorize them as false. It doesn't include dropped charges, or cases where the accusations were false but that could not be proven. This is the fundamental problem with the entire issue. This is from the same study:

"Rape complaints were subsequently withdrawn in 15.1 percent of the cases, and 46.4 percent of the complaints resulted in "no further police action.""

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I'm not challenging the notion that false rape claims that go to full blows aren't devastating. OP asked how often false accusations happen - more rare than actual rape. These false rape claims do not ALWAYS lead to serious consequences instantaneously.

I felt it needed to be said, as a lot of virgins, teens and socially unaware people tend to think women have this Life Destroy button they can willingly press at any time if you have sex with them.

They do have such a button, and nothing you have said shows that they do not.

[alltrueist]

"Rape complaints were subsequently withdrawn in 15.1 percent of the cases, and 46.4 percent of the complaints resulted in "no further police action.""

You're assuming that those numbers are all false accusations, which they are not. Withdrawing a claim and having no further police action does not mean that the complaint itself was false.

[Al Gorefiend]

They do have such a button, and nothing you have said shows that they do not.

This sounds like paranoia.

[Anonymous1038853]

The point is that only a small portion of allegations are definitively false, just as only a small portion of allegations are definitively true. The overwhelming majority of cases are ambiguous (even some "proven" cases on either side are still dubious), and conclusions cannot be fairly made without further investigation. People can hypothesize, but there doesn't appear to be clear evidence to support any generalization.

[NineSpine]

You're assuming that those numbers are all false accusations, which they are not. Withdrawing a claim and having no further police action does not mean that the complaint itself was false.

Nor does it mean that the claim wasn't false. That's why we have studies, which I referenced above, that tried to look into why cases were dropped or no action was pursued. Those studies find very high numbers of false accusations.

[alltrueist]

Nor does it mean that the claim wasn't false.

And yet you immediately assume they're all false, which tells me a lot about you.

[Slybak]

Between 2% and 10% of rape allegations are falsified (i.e. demonstrably proven to not have occurred, which is different from lack of evidence to prove in court that the crime did occur), according to the peer reviewed literature. This lines up with the general incidence of falsified criminal allegations (between 5-6%) for what the FBI classifies as "index crimes," which includes - along with forcible rape - murder, non-negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, arson, robbery, burglary, auto theft, and larceny.

The Kanin study shows an over 40% rate of false accusation. You can find a lot of law enforcement officials giving similar numbers on the record.

Kanin's sample was egregiously tainted: He relied on the statements of one police department, not on independently verifiable case studies, which is somewhat of a problem when the department in question has been condemned by both the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Department of Justice for their investigation methods in criminal complaints of rape and sexual assault. They hooked the complainants to polygraphs - only rape victims - and badgered them until they recanted.

The McDowell study showed something like 60%.

McDowell looked at a sample of rape cases in the Air Force and found that 14% were deemed falsified (80 out of 556 cases). The methodology he used to extrapolate a 60% figure from that number is mind-numbingly bizzare; he had three "independent reviewers" (whose names and credentials were not divulged) devise a sort of "scorecard" of what they saw as common factors in false allegations. If the victim says they received an obscene phone call before the alleged rape, they get a point. Did the victim have a history of "alcohol abuse" (undefined)? Three points. "Mental or emotional problems" (undefined)? Three points. History of "financial problems" (undefined)? One point. There were 27 separate "traits" that were measured, and if the points added up to 36 or above, the allegation was deemed false ("probably false" if between 16 and 36). McDowell then applied this scorecard to another sample of cases, and that's how he got the 60% figure. And its why its not taken seriously be crime statisticians.

The FBI says that 25% of cases referred to them are discounted because DNA evidence excludes the accused.

The FBI says no such thing. What the FBI says is that in cases where DNA testing is done to confirm the identity of the assailant, the exclusion rate is 25%. This does not mean that 25% of accused rapists are exonerated by DNA, as these tests are typically done on multiple suspects of the same crime. If, for example, the police have four suspects of a rape in which there is only one confirmed perpetrator, they will send DNA from all four individuals for testing, and three out of four of those suspects will be excluded by the test.

If we apply the tried-and-true logic of shitbird MRAs to this situation, 75% of those men were the victims of a false accusation.

[NineSpine]

This sounds like paranoia.

It's reality. A false accusation of rape can destroy someone's life, largely because people continue perpetuating this myth that false accusations almost never happen. Prosecutions for false accusation are INCREDIBLY rare. It's this simple: Anyone can claim someone else threatened them. That is a crime anyone can accuse someone of in order to just get them into trouble. However, such accusations are not taken very seriously without physical evidence. They are dismissed out of hand. Rape cases are not treated like that. They are taken very seriously in most cases from minute one, but they typically have the same legal connotations, specifically lack of physical evidence. You also have a lot of people sending dangerous messages about what rape is, with a lot of people essentially saying rape is when you have sex after a beer.

On top of all that, we have a justice system with separate, special rules to make rape convictions easier.

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And yet you immediately assume they're all false, which tells me a lot about you.

I never said they were all false. Putting words in my mouth tell me a lot about you.

[Al Gorefiend]

It's reality. A false accusation of rape can destroy someone's life, largely because people continue perpetuating this myth that false accusations almost never happen. Prosecutions for false accusation are INCREDIBLY rare. It's this simple: Anyone can claim someone else threatened them. That is a crime anyone can accuse someone of in order to just get them into trouble. However, such accusations are not taken very seriously without physical evidence. They are dismissed out of hand. Rape cases are not treated like that. They are taken very seriously in most cases from minute one, but they typically have the same legal connotations, specifically lack of physical evidence. You also have a lot of people sending dangerous messages about what rape is, with a lot of people essentially saying rape is when you have sex after a beer.

On top of all that, we have a justice system with separate, special rules to make rape convictions easier.

I think we're trying to agree with each other. I was under the impression that you believed a girl could call the cops, be like "Humbugged raped me" and police will be kicking down my door dragging me off to jail.

[Deleted]

I'm going to say it again, many men here are overly obsessed with fear of being falsely accused with rape. The poll does an excellent job of proving that.

I'll give you a hint, don't harras women or be a creepy mouthbreathing "nice guy" and you'll be fine. Infact, maybe it would be better if some of the men on this forum avoided RL contact with women entirely.

It's reality. A false accusation of rape can destroy someone's life, largely because people continue perpetuating this myth that false accusations almost never happen.

*Looks at poll*

*Looks at NineSpine's post*

*facepalms*

[Anonymous1038853]

I think we're trying to agree with each other. I was under the impression that you believed a girl could call the cops, be like "Humbugged raped me" and police will be kicking down my door dragging me off to jail.

NineSpine's argument appears to be that an individual is capable of initiating a false allegation without reprimand, and that this could effectively destroy an individual's life. Humbugged's argument appears to be that a false accusation is unlikely to be successful. These both seem to be reasonable points which don't necessarily contradict one another. So you're right, I think you're trying to agree with each other.

I'll give you a hint, don't harras women or be a creepy mouthbreathing "nice guy" and you'll be fine.

Yeah, don't wear skimpy garments and you won't be raped.

[Deleted]

Yeah, don't wear skimpy garments and you won't be raped.

Hmm, good point.

Maybe I should've phrased it differently "Men, don't harras women and you'll be fine unless you're really really unlucky", yeah, should've left it at that

[NineSpine]

Between 2% and 10% of rape allegations are falsified (i.e. demonstrably proven to not have occurred, which is different from lack of evidence to prove in court that the crime did occur), according to the peer reviewed literature. This lines up with the general incidence of falsified criminal allegations (between 5-6%) for what the FBI classifies as "index crimes," which includes - along with forcible rape - murder, non-negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, arson, robbery, burglary, auto theft, and larceny.

And what percentage are demonstrably proven to have occurred? This is the problem. You want to assume that all cases that aren't proven by a court to be false are rape, and that's absurd.

Kanin's sample was egregiously tainted: He relied on the statements of one police department, not on independently verifiable case studies, which is somewhat of a problem when the department in question has been condemned by both the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Department of Justice for their investigation methods in criminal complaints of rape and sexual assault. They hooked the complainants to polygraphs - only rape victims - and badgered them until they recanted.

I agree with the flaws in Kanin's study, but that's why I didn't include it alone.

McDowell looked at a sample of rape cases in the Air Force and found that 14% were deemed falsified (80 out of 556 cases). The methodology he used to extrapolate a 60% figure from that number is mind-numbingly bizzare; he had three "independent reviewers" (whose names and credentials were not divulged) devise a sort of "scorecard" of what they saw as common factors in false allegations. If the victim says they received an obscene phone call before the alleged rape, they get a point. Did the victim have a history of "alcohol abuse" (undefined)? Three points. "Mental or emotional problems" (undefined)? Three points. History of "financial problems" (undefined)? One point. There were 27 separate "traits" that were measured, and if the points added up to 36 or above, the allegation was deemed false ("probably false" if between 16 and 36). McDowell then applied this scorecard to a sample of cases, and that's how he got the 60% figure. And its why its not taken seriously be crime statisticians.

McDowell's criteria were based on the common factors in cases that were deemed demonstrably false. He then took those factors and categorized cases based on whether those factors matched. The points were assigned based on how common those factors were in demonstrably false cases. It's absolutely a reasonable way to look at the issue.

The FBI says no such thing. What the FBI says is that in cases where DNA testing is done to confirm the identity of the assailant, the exclusion rate is 25%. This does not mean that 25% of accused rapists are exonerated by DNA, as these tests are typically done on multiple suspects of the same crime. If, for example, the police have four suspects of a rape in which there is only one confirmed perpetrator, they will send DNA from all four individuals for testing, and three out of four of those suspects will be excluded by the test.

Now you are just making shit up, because if you knew these numbers you would know that it's 25% of the time the PRIMARY SUSPECT is excluded. That's the only number it refers to. It is not cases where lots of random people are tested.

[Anonymous1038853]

Hmm, good point.

For the record, I'm not particularly worried about a false accusation being levied against me. I'm not a promiscuous individual: The only person I have any real physical intimacy with is my girlfriend, and I trust her wholeheartedly. Though I am concerned about the wider implications of this subject, and how they pertain to society as a whole.

You want to assume that all cases that aren't proven by a court to be false are rape, and that's absurd.

Slyback didn't make this argument. Given that you were just faced with a parallel straw man, this is incredibly poor form.

[josykay]

Yeah, don't wear skimpy garments and you won't be raped.

I got an even better idea: Why don't you just stay at home, never invite people, don't go to work, don't open the door, order your food at the internet, telling the mail man, just to leave the stuff at the doorstep and leave your ground? Could reduce the risks of rape even more. Since rapists often aren't strangers, don't have contact to your family and so on!

[Deleted]

For the record, I'm not particularly worried about a false accusation being levied against me. I'm not a promiscuous individual: The only person I have any real physical intimacy with is my girlfriend, and I trust her wholeheartedly. Though I am concerned about the wider implications of this subject, and how they pertain to society as a whole.

I'm intimate with a few different women, so if anyone should be worried, it would be me. But then again I couldn't possibly see any of those women do something like that to me, even tough they could get away with it if they played it smart, maybe they just don't see the point.

I don't really understand why so many men on these forums are so afraid of being falsely accused of rape, its illogical, what would the woman in question win with it if she could succesfully get an innocent man in jail?

[Revi]

Nobody knows. Out of reported rapes, only 18% go to trial. Out of those, 40% is judged guilty, 36% innocent, and 25% discontinued. It's impossible to know how many walk free because of lack of evidence even though they're guilty, how many are genuinely innocent, and how many innocent are found guilty.

Sadly, I don't know of a single unbiased statistical study of it, so most numbers floating around the internet (everywhere from 2% to 50%) are dubious at best.