Anatomy of a False Rape Accusation

[Theodarzna]

This is the big issue for me with a lot of social issues lately. It feels like simply questioning, discussing or even participating in any way other than falling into complete agreement with a particular group is socially abhorrent.

"Make disagreement or discussion a social taboo" has been a pretty common strategy across the board by certain groups.

From this thread I can gather that this is definitely the case. We have confluence of popular beliefs....

First we have the belief that rape is wildly unreported, but how one easily can know how unreported something is is beyond me. Second we have the belief that false rape is practically non-existent, which seems to be the inverse logic of point one. Were as with "under reporting," there are studies, informal data, and some strong theoretical basis, the claim that False Rape Accusations are next to non-existent is mainly based on the small number that can be proven false compared to the numbers of rape trials AND the various alleged number of "Under Reported."

In this case there is also the "Women are Wonderful," effect or benevolent sexism were we want to believe, because believing women might lie or act malicious is so unpalatable that nobody wants to think of us as capable of that.

[Krille]

Well, sometimes I feel like "rape apologist" or "misogynist" and other terms should be bundled into Godwins' Law at this point.

You can't even tell a woman to "be careful around strangers" (something that I'd tell anyone, male or female) without being labeled something horrible nowadays.

You probably just didnt say that tho, i'm fairly certain anyone can say "be careful around strangers" without being called misogynist.

[Theodarzna]

Well, sometimes I feel like "rape apologist" or "misogynist" and other terms should be bundled into Godwins' Law at this point.

You can't even tell a woman to "be careful around strangers" (something that I'd tell anyone, male or female) without being labeled something horrible nowadays.

In my rough estimation and opinion, a lot of this is an unhealthy reaction by many people to the salaciousness of Hookup culture and its voyeuristic articles about their daughters having drunken sex with lots of guys.

Feminists hate it because women chasing dick isn't part of the program, and Parents hate because they don't want to imagine their princess getting railed by a bunch of guys.

Sex and Alcohol is now dangerous, is now evil, is now the source of all that is wrong. That isn't a coincidence in my view.

[Noradin]

Do you go around worrying about being murdered? I know I don't

I don't go normally around worrying about getting children I didn't want, either.

- - - Updated - - -

Uhm, no. Maybe trying reading before posting in future?

Back to you.

[Spiffums]

The only study I found was one done in Australia, it found that 1 of 50 rape accusations where false enough so that law enforcement brought charges against the accuser. Even one out of 50 is too much but it's hardly an epidemic.

It's better that 50 guilty men go free than for 1 innocent to be wronged by the court system.

[Noradin]

You probably just didnt say that tho, i'm fairly certain anyone can say "be careful around strangers" without being called misogynist.

Of course they can. To a male or to their preteen child that is.

- - - Updated - - -

It's better that 50 guilty men go free than for 1 innocent to be wronged by the court system.

No need to put a gender in that sentence, but yes, basically.


Also, keep in mind that just because many will go free due not being reported does not mean that those who are reported are more likely to be guilty. You counteract the lack of reports with being extra hard on those who got reported without proof.

[Theodarzna]

A teenager took his own life after he was falsely accused of rape, an inquest heard.

Jay Cheshire, 17, who was "mature and well-liked", was at the centre of a police investigation which ended in June this year when the alleged victim dropped the charge.
But he tried to commit suicide a few weeks later and after being taken to Southampton General Hospital, died on 5 July.

An inquest at Winchester Coroners Court, Hants, heard Jay struggled to cope with the false accusations and was "absolutely distraught."

Jay, from Southampton, was a sixth form student at Bitterne Park School studying English Literature, Film Studies and Geography - and hoped to become a history teacher or a writer.

The court also heard he had a history of struggling with low moods, was put on anti-depressants and was due to undergo cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). He had a psychiatrist since the age of 13 but in March this year his state of mind improved, leading to doctors agreeing that CBT was not urgently needed any more. However in May, Jay's family contacted them once more saying he was under pressure because of the police investigation.

[...]

Source: Teenager falsely accused of rape commits suicide

Lest we believe False Accusations never happen, or of trifle consequences.

[Pann]

Source: Teenager falsely accused of rape commits suicide

Lest we believe False Accusations never happen, or of trifle consequences.

I don't think I have seen anyone in this thread say that false accusations never happen or that the consequences for those who are falsely accused are trivial.

[Theodarzna]

I don't think I have seen anyone in this thread say that false accusations never happen or that the consequences for those who are falsely accused are trivial.

I have seen such claims levied in other threads of the same topic.

And If I recall there is the post floating about that says to the effect of "its so rare we shouldn't even care."

[Pann]

I have seen such claims levied in other threads of the same topic.

And If I recall there is the post floating about that says to the effect of "its so rare we shouldn't even care."

There is a lot of crap written on the internet none of which is relevant to this thread.

There was a post that said false accusations were so rare that we need no worry about them, the context of this post, which was further clarified, was in regard to an individual not having to worry about being accused and not that we should not care that accusations are made.

You do not help your argument by relying on something that might have been written, at sometime, in some other unrelated thread as proof.

[Theodarzna]

There is a lot of crap written on the internet none of which is relevant to this thread.

There was a post that said false accusations were so rare that we need no worry about them, the context of this post, which was further clarified, was in regard to an individual not having to worry about being accused and not that we should not care that accusations are made.

You do not help your argument by relying on something that might have been written, at sometime, in some other unrelated thread as proof.

What argument was I making?

The reason for claiming its so rare is to also argue the phenomena should not even be discussed.

[Pann]

What argument was I making?

The reason for claiming its so rare is to also argue the phenomena should not even be discussed.

It would appear from this post

Source: Teenager falsely accused of rape commits suicide

Lest we believe False Accusations never happen, or of trifle consequences.

that you are claiming that people are saying that false accusations never happen and the consequences are trivial to which I replied that I had not seen anyone make such a claim. You then said that you had seen people make these claims in some thread or another yet failed to link to this thread.

The poster clarified their post and it is clear that is not what they meant.

[Atrea]

What argument was I making?

The reason for claiming its so rare is to also argue the phenomena should not even be discussed.

No, the reason for claiming it is so rare is to accurately frame it in terms of proportional response.

Hypothetical situation:

If you owned a home and it had a rodent infestation (let's say 100+, a nest, etc.), you would respond with appropriately proportional measures; an exterminator service, perhaps a contractor to address how the rodents are entering the home, and suchlike. Additionally, you would likely take precautions - at great expense, perhaps - to prevent future infestations. This would be an appropriate response to the situation.

However, if you owned a home and you found a single mouse, the aforementioned response would not be appropriately proportional. Instead, it would fall within the realm of "fucking overkill".

Now, no one's saying that you shouldn't deal with the lone mouse; after all, if you let that one go, sooner or later you could have an infestation on your hands. But you aren't taking out loans to retrofit your home over it either. Instead, you set a trap, capture the mouse, and go about your business, possibly bothered by having to do it, but knowing that you responded to the situation adequately.


Let's put that into a more context-appropriate example, now.

If false rape accusations were common, then perhaps more strict legislation would be required to deal with the issue. However, since they are not, creating an extensive and convoluted system of law around the issue also falls in within the realm of "fucking overkill".

Right now, false rape accusations are like the single mouse in your house. It sucks, it would be awesome if they never happened, but responding to the situation in overkill mode is foolish - particularly when doing so would make legitimate rape accusations even more difficult. And I'll remind you that those outweigh the false claims by at least 20:1 (based on numbers already discussed in this thread -- although in reality, you could probably add a zero or two to that 20 and still be making a very conservative estimate.)

[Mizix]

If I was raped I would immediately report it. I was 5 years old and almost raped by a guy down the street. I escaped and went straight to my mother and told her. Granted there was no real evidence since I escaped, but I didn't sit and wait and cry. Hell I never cried once about it and I was literally pinned on the floor and luckily squirmed away. It is exactly like what was mentioned in the post you quoted: If they want to be treated equally, women need to "man up" instead of this 2 weeks later report a rape. That is the nonsense that leads people to not believe it. You should be furious that you were raped not self loathing and having a pity party. And before people say that they might be injured and can't report it, that's also nonsense because if you were injured in the process you should be immediately going to get seen which they have rape kits there. About the only case I can see in delayed reporting is people who were drugged where they didn't even know they were raped at the time.

While I agree that reporting a rape right away is the best course of action, there are number of factors as to why some victims wait. That doesn't necessarily imply a false accusation, although it can lead to believe the accusation was made up. The main reason being that the first reaction to something that horrible is emotional not rational. What you did as a 5 years old was mostly emotional: you ran to your mummy because you were scared and she was your authority-figure of reference. There is no way at that age you decided on a whim that it was best not to call the police because there was no real evidence. If you were to react rationally, you would have called 911. Now imagine you are an adult and get raped, you think you would act rationally - adults should be able to do so - but that's not guaranteed to happen because you might react emotionally; run home or wherever you feel safe or take a shower because cleaning yourself seems more important in that moment than preserving the evidence of the rape. Or you might be too traumatized to act normally, whatever... It's a trauma and for some people even a stigma - think those who live in regions or families where the victim is blamed.

[Theodarzna]

No, the reason for claiming it is so rare is to accurately frame it in terms of proportional response.

Hypothetical situation:

If you owned a home and it had a rodent infestation (let's say 100+, a nest, etc.), you would respond with appropriately proportional measures; an exterminator service, perhaps a contractor to address how the rodents are entering the home, and suchlike. Additionally, you would likely take precautions - at great expense, perhaps - to prevent future infestations. This would be an appropriate response to the situation.

However, if you owned a home and you found a single mouse, the aforementioned response would not be appropriately proportional. Instead, it would fall within the realm of "fucking overkill".

Now, no one's saying that you shouldn't deal with the lone mouse; after all, if you let that one go, sooner or later you could have an infestation on your hands. But you aren't taking out loans to retrofit your home over it either. Instead, you set a trap, capture the mouse, and go about your business, possibly bothered by having to do it, but knowing that you responded to the situation adequately.


Let's put that into a more context-appropriate example, now.

If false rape accusations were common, then perhaps more strict legislation would be required to deal with the issue. However, since they are not, creating an extensive and convoluted system of law around the issue also falls in within the realm of "fucking overkill".

Right now, false rape accusations are like the single mouse in your house. It sucks, it would be awesome if they never happened, but responding to the situation in overkill mode is foolish - particularly when doing so would make legitimate rape accusations even more difficult. And I'll remind you that those outweigh the false claims by at least 20:1 (based on numbers already discussed in this thread -- although in reality, you could probably add a zero or two to that 20 and still be making a very conservative estimate.)

So far I've never seen a comprehensive study about the nature or amount of false rape accusations that wasn't done by someone who is likely to want to minimize their existence.

I'll use another metaphor, someone tells me there is a poisoned M&M in a bowl of M&M's, it might be 1 it might be 100, but theres 1000 in there. I personally will not take an M&M out of that bowl and I would do something to deal with the poisoned M&M.