# False rape claims - what are the real statistics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2009, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-rape-claims-what-are-the-real-statistics/520433 "2009-12-08T11:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-rape-claims-what-are-the-real-statistics/520433/41 "2009-12-12T05:08:30Z")
. > [@](#): > > This does not happen only when “she didn’t tell him [no] explicitly enough”, as you suggested above, but in cases of violent stranger rape. Rapists simply are not reliable when it comes to whether or not their victims consented, and are good at lying (to others and possibly even to themselves) about what actually happened. > > This is not to say that there are not men who have been falsely accused of rape, because there are, but there are also plenty of rapists who say that what they did wasn’t rape. _nods_ Yes, the rapists have such distorted thinking that they’ve convinced themselves that they didn’t rape the woman…and not just a date rape misunderstanding sort of dealie. (I have to say that I think date rape while a legitimate problem is different from stranger/violent rape, since the motervations are different) Granted it’s easy to understand why stuff like date rape happens since in our society women are socialized to go along with what guys want. But how the hell can something (since stranger rapists are not even HUMAN) that REALLY honestly violated a woman convince themselves that they didn’t really rape a woman? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-rape-claims-what-are-the-real-statistics/520433/42 "2009-12-12T16:30:51Z")
> [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](#): > > But how the hell can something (since stranger rapists are not even HUMAN) that REALLY honestly violated a woman convince themselves that they didn’t really rape a woman? Humans have a very high capacity to believe what they choose to believe. Hence the source of all the intractable conflicts of the world. When it comes to something involving the lower brain functions of violence, sex, power, gratification, etc., that capacity is nearly infinite. Also, this is a self-selecting phenomonon. Precisely the people who are able to convince themsleves they’re not doing bad (or don’t care) are the ones who go on to do bad. They may only be 0.001% percent of the US population, but that’s still 15,000 bad men. What is surprising to me is that this would be surprising to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-rape-claims-what-are-the-real-statistics/520433/43 "2009-12-12T17:47:23Z")
I’m sure there are hard statistics of prisoners exonerated of rape with new dna tests. It seems like a lot of the old rape convictions from the 1980’s and early 90’s often get cleared with modern dna testing. Some states are so embarrassed they’ve stopped allowing new testing on old cases or they just won’t consider a new court hearing. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-rape-claims-what-are-the-real-statistics/520433/44 "2009-12-12T17:55:34Z")
[http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/11/us/dna-frees-inmate-years-after-justices-rejected-plea.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/11/us/dna-frees-inmate-years-after-justices-rejected-plea.html) DNA cleared this guy after 17 years and the state fought it all the way. > [@](#): > > The United States Supreme Court ruled that Larry Youngblood did not need to be released from prison just because evidence that might have exonerated him on child molestation charges had been damaged. But this week, 12 years later, DNA testing of evidence in the case set him free. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-rape-claims-what-are-the-real-statistics/520433/45 "2009-12-12T18:24:09Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m sure there are hard statistics of prisoners exonerated of rape with new dna tests. > > It seems like a lot of the old rape convictions from the 1980’s and early 90’s often get cleared with modern dna testing. Some states are so embarrassed they’ve stopped allowing new testing on old cases or they just won’t consider a new court hearing. If a convict is cleared with DNA evidence, that means the wrong person was convicted. It doesn’t mean the claim of rape was false. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-rape-claims-what-are-the-real-statistics/520433.md?page=2)