False Rape Allegations

look, i have a hard time buying this crap, because I personally know too many people who have been raped. My step-sister was raped for 5 years by her father. My uncle was raped in an NYC bathroom, I was raped by a senior in my high school, my good friend was raped by her father and her uncle. My neighbor was raped and impregnated by a complete stranger.

Of all those I listed only 2 went to the police, and only one was convicted, and he got a hefty 9 months in the county jail for his crime. My neighbor went to the police, but was basically told she had no chance of catching the man that did this to her. NOTHING has ever come of it, to this day, and this crime took place 4 years ago.

I am not some sort of lesbian feminist trying to scare people. I just find in horrifying that I know so many people that have been victims of this crime. And these are just the people that are close enough to me to divulge the information, I am sure I would find a lot more if it was something women were more comfortable talking about. This, to me, is a heavy indication that rape is a major problem in our culture.

I have known all too many women (and some men) that have been victims of this crime. WAY too many to suggest that 41% are lying.

And please try to remember, just because women change their minds does not mean that they wern't raped. Especially in the cases of date rape. The defense will surely make these women out to be tramps, sluts, and liars if they take the stand against their aggressor. Many feel (as I did at the time) it isn't worth it to make a horrific experience all the more worse by being embarrassed and shamed by the defense.

 

Actually there are a lot more women who do not tell anyone as opposed to women who falsley accuse men of rape. It's really not fair of you to put a thread like this up here because you don't know who may not tell after reading this because they fear no one will believe them. In most rape cases the offender is someone the victim (I hate that word but can't think of a better one) knows very well and in a lot of cases it is a family member. Also the police only define rape as violent and you have to have bruises on you ect-they don't take mental intimidation or a history of being terrified of the person into account at all. If you knew someones past and knew what they were capable of and they were a family member and were afraid to fight back and of age the police would not consider that rape-even if you said no. It is a sick world and posts like this that encourage people not to believe victims does not help the situation at all.

 

exactly a lot of women will take blame out of embarrasment or will change there minds out of fear of what the person they told may do to the offender or they may be afraid of what the offender might do to them. When a family member threatens your life if you tell or tells you it's your fault for the way you look I doubt you would be at the police station or the hospital getting a rape kit done. Plus the police require that you get a rape kit done if you want to prosecute and I doubt very many women feel like being touched there after being violated in the worst way and are in pain because of it. I really really hate this post and I know false accusations happen but not nearly as much as girls are too afraid to tell because of ideas like the ones expressed in this post.

 

I am sorry to hear you had such a bad experience, and I hope your attacker receives
the karmic reward for inflicting such pain on you.
But that doesn't change the question--what to do about false allegations? As a victim yourself, how do you feel about those, like Cathy Webb, who made up a story about rape? If women who claim rape are to be believed, something should be done to make liars about rape have second thoughts before telling such a lie. I don't doubt that many people are raped, but some apparently make up stories to gain sympathy, or money, or attention, or for whatever reason. What should we do about them?

BTW, I've also known a number of people who have been raped. I don't personally know anyone who claimed to be raped and later changed their story, but I do know three people who've received allegations of sexual harassment which later turned out to be unfounded, by co-workers harboring a grudge. Nothing was ever done to punish those false accusers, either.

 

I never said I was raped. That is an experience that if it happened I wouldn't share on here. I think men need to take responsibilty and be sure of someones feelings and make sure that sex is what the person wants and even ask to make sure-as unsexy as it may be. I think we put far too much blame on women. We are the weaker sex when it comes to everything else and are deemed incapable of so much yet somehow when it comes to sex we are forced to take all of the responsibilty. If a guy made sure of someones feelings prior to the act than I think false accusations would dramiticaly decease.

 

Well they definitely should be punished for abusing the justice system, but are you going to punish everyone who takes back the charges?

When you go to a police station they basically tell you that there is nothing you can do about it. Then they want to send you of to get poked and prodded, basically violated again. It is very discouraging, and most women decide it is not worth it to continue to persue this, so they drop charges and try to get on with their life.

What I am trying to point out, is the original poster's number of 41% is a horribly flawed number. First, the study was only done in one town, and it was done by counting the number of women who take back their allegations. I was trying to say that just because a woman takes back her allegations does not necessarily mean she was not raped. It doesn't mean that at all.

I think that the original poster has a complete lack of understanding of what a rape victim has to go through, and doesn't seem to care to want to understand.

If you ment that for me, thanks. I like to believe in karma myself.

And as much as I like to blab on about these asshole rapists, I wasn't able to - and I still wouldn't be able to - get up enough guts to prosecute this guy. I am terribly afraid of how I would be portrayed by the defense. It has been 7 years, and I am still embarassed by what happened to me. It shouldn't have to be that way.

Fact is, it is rare when a man would actually admit his guilt to this. There would have to be witnesses or something, which hardly ever happens in cases of rape. So anyone trying to prosecute their rapists is going to be portrayed as a liar. I wound never want to go on the stand like this, after such a traumatic experience, and have to defend myself yet again. To have my every action scrutinized, to be made to look like a liar, or to be made to feel like I was somehow asking for it.

Which hopefully offers you more insight to why a woman would drop charges or take back accusations once the weight of what she will have to go through (beyone the horrific experience of the rape) hits her.

 

whether the number is 2% or 41%, victims rights should NOT trump the rights of the defendant. The right to a fair trial is probably the most sacred right we have as americans, and whoever is being tried deserves every benefit of the doubt, even if that means a woman must be humiliated infront of a jury. Sorry, but if a person is going to go to jail for 20 years or life, he deserves a fair trial.

Lynsey, i hope you are asking whether a guy should ask his gf/wife/whatever if she's really sure about sex everytime they have sex! How soon we forget the "just say no!" policy. If a woman doesnt want sex, just say no, its as simple as that. Is it rape if she is too afraid to say no, really doesnt want it, but cant say no and goes along with it? I think we put too much blame on MEN. If a woman doesnt want to have sex, say no, 99.99% of men wont take it past that. Do men need to go as far as having a contract before they sleep with a woman?

 

Excuse me, Megara, for being graphic...

But I definitely told by boyfriend (who I had been sleeping with) no before he sodomized me. Then he continued to tell me how he could tell I liked it. So then he did it to me again. If you think is rights should trump mine then you don't even have a conscience.

It is people like you who oppress raped women. The blame is COMPLETELY on the man. Rape is NEVER the woman's fault. You really should be ashamed of yourself if you think otherwise.

Besides, can a passed out woman say no? A drugged woman? What about the women who have hands over their mouths, or the women who are absolutely terrified? Many women let the guy do what he want's, and even pretend to like it in fear for their lives.

 

do you understand how our legal system works? You are innocent until proven guilty. Ideally, that means the defendant has the benefit of the doubt, not the accuser. No one wants rapists to get off, but we dont want innocent people going to jail.

I dont oppress raped women, and i hope everyone who is really raped comes forward and puts their attacker behind bars for a long time. I will say, that is a horrible thing to accuse me of.

Of course a passed out woman can not consent, and that is rape if a guy takes advantage of her.

Now, if a bf/gf are smoking pot and they have sex, and then they get in an argument, should she be able to charge him with rape becuase she was high? There is definitely instances where you can take advantage of a person who is intoxicated and who is drugged, but just because you are drugged doesnt mean it is absolutely raped. If both are drunk off their ass and they have sex, who is blame? Was the guy raped if the girl comes on strong to him and they have sex? I dont think so.

I asked the question earlier, is it rape if a woman doesnt make clear that she doesnt want sex, but is too scared to say no and therefore has sex with the guy? Scared not being shaking and curled up in the corner, scared being afraid the guy will hate her or something.

edit: sorry that you boyfriend did that to you. No one wants rapists to get off, but in order for everyone to have their rights protected, the defendant has the right to to a fair trial, even if he is a rapist

 

Read the paragraphy which I have emphasized with bold

------------------


Research Shows False Accusations of Rape Common
MichNews.com ^ | Sep 15, 2004 | By Marc Angelucci and Glenn Sacks


Posted on 09/18/2004 11:16:37 PM PDT by dsc


Despite its many painful and unseemly aspects, the Kobe Bryant rape case and the media storm surrounding it have drawn attention to a severely neglected problem: false rape accusations.

In her recent Daily Journal column, high profile feminist professor Wendy Murphy dismisses the problem of false accusations as an "ugly myth," and calls for "boiling rage" activism to address what she perceives as the anti-woman bias of the criminal justice system. Like many victims' advocates, Murphy cannot seem to fathom the possibility that Bryant could be innocent. However, research shows that false allegations of rape are frighteningly common.

According to a nine-year study conducted by former Purdue sociologist Eugene J. Kanin, in over 40 percent of the cases reviewed, the complainants eventually admitted that no rape had occurred (Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1994). Kanin also studied rape allegations in two large Midwestern universities and found that 50 percent of the allegations were recanted by the accuser.

Kanin found that most of the false accusers were motivated by a need for an alibi or a desire for revenge. Kanin was once well known and lauded by the feminist movement for his groundbreaking research on male sexual aggression. His studies on false rape accusations, however, received very little attention.

Kanin's findings are hardly unique. In 1985 the Air Force conducted a study of 556 rape accusations. Over one quarter of the accusers admitted, either just before they took a lie detector test of after they had failed it, that no rape occurred. A further investigation by independent reviewers found that 60 percent of the original rape allegations were false.

The most common reasons the women gave for falsely accusing rape were "spite or revenge," and to compensate for feelings of guilt or shame (Forensic Science Digest, vol. 11. no. 4, December 1985).

A Washington Post investigation of rape reports in seven Virginia and Maryland counties in 1990 and 1991 found that nearly one in four were unfounded. When contacted by the Post, many of the alleged victims admitted that they had lied.

It is true, of course, that not every accuser who recants had accused falsely. But it is also true that some who do not recant were not telling the truth.

According to a 1996 Department of Justice Report, of the roughly 10,000 sexual assault cases analyzed with DNA evidence over the previous seven years, 2,000 excluded the primary suspect, and another 2,000 were inconclusive. The report notes that these figures mirror an informal National Institute of Justice survey of private laboratories, and suggests that there exists "some strong, underlying systemic problems that generate erroneous accusations and convictions."

That false allegations are a major problem has been confirmed by several prominent prosecutors, including Linda Fairstein, who heads the New York County District Attorney's Sex Crimes Unit. Fairstein, the author of Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape, says, "there are about 4,000 reports of rape each year in Manhattan. Of these, about half simply did not happen."

Craig Silverman, a former Colorado prosecutor known for his zealous prosecution of rapists during his 16-year career, says that false rape accusations occur with "scary frequency." As a regular commentator on the Bryant trial for Denver's ABC affiliate, Silverman noted that "any honest veteran sex assault investigator will tell you that rape is one of the most falsely reported crimes." According to Silverman, a Denver sex-assault unit commander estimates that nearly half of all reported rape claims are false.

The media has largely ignored these studies and experts and has instead promoted the notion that only 2% of rape allegations are false. This figure was made famous by feminist Susan Brownmiller in her 1975 book Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape. Brownmiller was relaying the alleged comments of a New York judge concerning the rate of false rape accusations in a New York City police precinct in 1974.

A 1997 Columbia Journalism Review analysis of rape statistics noted that the 2% statistic is often falsely attributed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and has no clear and credible study to support it. The FBI's statistic for "unfounded" rape accusations is 9%, but this definition only includes cases where the accuser recants or the evidence contradicts her story. Instances where the case is dismissed for lack of evidence are not included in the "unfounded" category. Brownmiller's credibility can be assessed by her assertion in Against Our Will that rape is "nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear."

Murphy also contends that the criminal justice system is stacked against women, and that the law reform initiatives promoted during the past three decades have "failed to make a bit of difference in the justice system's handling of rape cases." In reality, feminist advocacy and the now ubiquitous rape-shield laws have made an enormous difference in the way the system treats rape cases.

Some of these changes have been fair, and have led to greater protections for rape victims. However, others have made it more difficult for men to defend themselves, with at times horrifying consequences for the accused.

For example, in December, the Arkansas Supreme Court denied an appeal by Ralph Taylor, who is serving a 13-year sentence for rape. The court held that evidence of the victim's alleged prior false allegations of rape was inadmissible because it was considered sexual conduct within the meaning of the state's rape shield statute. In that case, the defense proffered the testimony of two friends of the alleged victim, both of whom claimed that she had previously falsely accused another man of raping her. The court added that admitting such evidence could "inflame the jury."

In her book Ceasefire: Why Women and Men Must Join Forces to Achieve True Equality, Boston Globe columnist Cathy Young details numerous questionable rulings in which potentially innocent men were prevented from properly defending themselves by the rape shield laws which Murphy endorses.

One of these cases concerns an 18 year-old Wisconsin boy named Charles Steadman, who in 1993 was sentenced to eight years in prison for allegedly raping an older woman. Steadman was prohibited from revealing that his accuser was currently facing criminal charges of having sex with minors, and thus had an excellent reason to claim that the sex with Steadman was not consensual. Such evidence was deemed related to his accuser's sexual history and thus inadmissible.

In 1997, sportscaster Marv Albert was accused of assault and battery during a sexual encounter with a woman with whom he had had a 10-year sexual relationship. Albert sought to introduce evidence that his accuser, who had been in a mental hospital six weeks before the alleged assault, had previously made false accusations against men who had left her, as Albert, who was engaged to be married, was planning to do. Albert's offer of proof was denied, compromising his ability to defend himself. Facing a possible life sentence, he chose to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault.

Murphy's dogged attacks on Ruckriegle as a veritable "advocate for the accused" are also without foundation. Far from being a black robed patriarch in league with the defendant, Ruckriegle's rulings were reasonable and, if anything, minimalist. It is not the rulings but the reaction to them by victims' advocates and the media which are worrisome.

For example, Ruckriegle granted a defense motion that Bryant's accuser would not be referred to as "the victim" in court. Such labeling, as opposed to "alleged victim" or "accuser," undermines the presumption of innocence. However, this motion was hotly contested by both the prosecution and by victims' rights organizations, which filed amicus briefs and complained that Ruckriegle's decision created an anti-woman double-standard.

Ruckriegle also allowed Bryant to introduce evidence that his accuser had had other sexual encounters in the 72 hours before her medical examination for the alleged assault. Bryant's defense team contended that the microscopic vaginal injuries the prosecution claimed were suffered in the alleged assault could instead have been the product of various consensual sexual encounters.

Media commentators labeled the 72 hour decision a "bombshell for prosecutors" that "threatens all women," and likened Ruckriegle to a man who has "tiptoed into a minefield."

Murphy is correct that rape is a horrible crime. But false accusations of rape are every bit as horrible. They are a form of psychological rape that can emotionally, socially, and economically destroy a person even if there is no conviction, especially for those of less fame and fortune than Bryant. The stigma attaches to the falsely accused for life. Few believe them and few care. Prosecutors systematically refuse to prosecute the perpetrators. And victims' advocates like Murphy refuse to see falsely accused men as victims, and instead work to minimize and conceal the problem.

--------- This column first appeared in the Los Angeles Daily Journal and San Francisco Daily Journal (9/15/04).

Marc E. Angelucci is a public interest attorney in Los Angeles and is the president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Coalition of Free Men.

Glenn Sacks is a widely published men's and fathers' issues columnist and a nationally syndicated radio talk show host. Glenn can be reached via his website at http://www.glennsacks.com/.

Copyright© MichNews.com. All Rights Reserved.

 

It seems to me that this is going around in circles. Men are the ones who have power in these situations because of the physical requirements for sex and the tendency for men to be stronger than women (with exceptions of course. I mean no offense toward women). Saying "no" is not necessarily "simple" in these situations, especially with the messages sent in pornography (in many cases) that women are just being playful when they say no.

This also brings up the question of whether men can be raped by women, I certainly don't think so.

Yes it is wrong for anyone to make false accusations; this is why these cases are tried in court.


iiaajmn

It is also my opinion that if you want to provide sources for your opinions (and I applaud that), just post how to get there instead of taking up huge amounts of space with 1000s of words. No offense intended, just my opinion.

 

if a woman wants to make a point that she's saying no, its NOT hard to do. Tone tells so much.

 

But a stronger, more forceful man can trump a woman's "no." I agree with you that a woman who is secure enough in herself can forcefully say "no," but a woman must also deal with all of the gender expectations placed on her by society--it is not always easy. Have you read Reviving Ophelia? It is an eye-opener about what it is like to be an adolescent girl.

 

if you mean trump the no by forcibly raping her, then we are talking about something else.

 

Fair enough.

 

OH MY GOD! What a load of shit. So I am right, you DO consider incest OK???? Every animal in the earth has taboos against it.

As for your other junk

• NO, I am not a lesbian (not that it would matter if I was, nor do I consider it offensive when people assume I am, though) I think you have asked me this about 7 times, and I have answered truthfully
• I didn't "Accuse" you of being an offender. I proposed that the obsession with this issue would most likely occur in 1)survivors, 2)parents of victims or 3)offenders 4)certain types of mental health profesional, like rape counselors. In 25 years together, I don't think my dh has ever brought up this subject,)he's a mentally healthy dude) and I know of no other man who is worried about it, UNLESS they have a child who is a victim, were a victim themselves or were accused of offending or were offenders.
• I am capable "making you mad so I will get you banned "again?"" There you are BLAMING others for YOUR behavior, which of course is what people like Farrell do, and others who believe incest, domestic abuse and sexual assault isn't a bad thing or "she made me do it." Offenders DO blame others for "making" them do unacceptable things. If you get banned, IT IS YOUR FAULT. Take responsibilty for your actions.

I have a question for you, DO YOU THINK INCEST IS OK? It appears you do. (See the quote above from you last post.) Victims only think incest is bad because hairy, man hating lesbian feminists tell them it is? NO, people who were assaulted by parents or siblings (or, um, stepfathers or mom's boyfreind) NEVER think it is OK. Don't try to convince yourself "she liked it."


As for the homosexual/pedophile comparision issue (which of course was raised by your old freind, Paul Morphy) homosexual acts are consensual, INCEST NEVER IS. That makes ALL THE DIFFERNCE IN THE WORLD.

 

how on earth is incest never consentual? If two grown adult brothers want to have sex, thats not consentual? how does that work?

 

This is not the common incest situation. Incest is usually a child or young person being assaulted by a parent or parent figure or a stronger sibling or sibling figure (say in a foster situation, or in a "blended" family.) I don't know of any brother on brother consensual situations. Do you? OTOH, I know people who HAVE been raped or fondled by parents or older stronger siblings, or most commonly, stepfathers or mom's live in.

 

If two consenting adult siblings want to have sex, or heck, if a father and a daughter(who is over 18 or whatever) want to have sex, are you against it? Surely they can give consent.


All you do is have to look at the ruling families of europe for thousands of years to find incest.

And no, i dont know any modern incest couples, they are ILLEGAL.

 

Well, no, the study was conducted over a nine year period, and was conducted in an effort to better understand the phenomena of false rape allegations. I'm not sure how the findings benefits pedophiles and rapists, only those who have been falsely accused of rape.

I know that you just won't understand (or don't want to understand) but the comparison between incest and homosexuality is quite legitimate. Homosexual behaviour was once considered a sin, and even as society became more secular, it was still considered immoral and inappropraite conduct. But homosexuality has become widely accepted, thanks in large part because of the gay and lesbian "community" and feminists. So what was once abnoral is now suddenly normal. Why? Well, proponents argue that gays should have the right to engage in their lifestyle, that these relationships are conducted by two consenting adults. And now it's come to the point where gays are seeking to get married and to have children of their own (even though that can't produce these children through natural procreation), despite the fact that there is evidence to suggest that the consequences could be detrimental for the children. The question is, if two men or two women having a consentual sexual relationship is now "normal," how is it that a brother and sister having a consentual sexual relationship is still "abnormal," then? Logic dictates that if you condone one, you can't condemn the other because both are lifestyles engaged upon by consenting adults.

Incidently, because I know what type of person you are, I'll repeat it again: I don't condone incest at all. I think that incest is inappropriate behaviour.