# Preventing False Accusations of Rape **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 17, 2005, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175 "2005-01-17T11:50:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/21 "2005-01-17T22:13:34Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > Er, no. If the person found driving your car says that you did too give permission, the justice system then has to figure out which statement is the truth. Sure , the jury has to figure out who’s telling the truth. And they are free to determine that I am more credible than the defendant, and that I am telling the truth. They are also free to decide he is more credible, or to decide they can’t tell _who’s_ telling the truth and acquit. But the fact there isn’t any additional evidence to corroborate my statement doesn’t stop the case from being brought in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![laigle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@laigle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laigle)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/22 "2005-01-17T22:22:53Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Sure , the jury has to figure out who’s telling the truth. And they are free to determine that I am more credible than the defendant, and that I am telling the truth. They are also free to decide he is more credible, or to decide they can’t tell _who’s_ telling the truth and acquit. But the fact there isn’t any additional evidence to corroborate my statement doesn’t stop the case from being brought in the first place. Excepting, of course, that the judge is free to dismiss charges for lack of evidence as soon as the defense raises a motion. And that even failing that, one the accuser goes to jail and meets up with the population of legal aides there, the appellate court is free to overturn his conviction for ineffective counsel. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/23 "2005-01-17T22:24:13Z")
[This article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38006-2004Nov9.html) discusses a case in which a young woman recanted an allegation of rape and was convicted of making a false allegation. She had been raped. Why should false allegation of rape be any different than false allegation of any other crime? Accusing someone of murder is not treated same as killing someone. Why should accusing someone of rape merit the same as punishment as rape? ---
**Author:** ![laigle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@laigle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laigle)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/24 "2005-01-17T22:50:28Z")
> [@lee](#): > > [This article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38006-2004Nov9.html) discusses a case in which a young woman recanted an allegation of rape and was convicted of making a false allegation. She had been raped. > > Why should false allegation of rape be any different than false allegation of any other crime? Accusing someone of murder is not treated same as killing someone. Why should accusing someone of rape merit the same as punishment as rape? Personally I wouldn’t argue that it should. I would say that the way to deal with the issue is to apply due process to the accused in a rape case just as in any other case. Just as you shouldn’t assume that someone accused of rape is guilty, you shouldn’t assume someone whose rape accusation didn’t hold investigatory water was automatically guilty of malice. ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/25 "2005-01-17T23:44:52Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > **But why should we treat rape accusers differently than any other accusers?** If I report my car stolen, my testimony that I didn’t give the person found driving it permission is enough to convict him or her of unauthorized use of my vehicle. Nothing else is needed to corroborate my statement. The same is true if I accuse someone of any other crime where consent or authorization is an issue-if a business owner accuses an employee of stealing a computer, or a person of stealing merchandise, the business owner’s statement that there was no authorization doesn’t need corroboration. If I report that I was robbed, my testimony alone is enough for a conviction. For those crimes, we let the jury hear the witnesses, determine their credibility, and decide whether to convict or acquit even though false accusations can be made. Why should rape be different? I agree, we shouldn’t treat rape accusers any differently to other crimes except in that they should be given help to determine why they would lie about such a particularly terrifying ordeal that never happened. However, I think comparing a false accusation of rape to one of car theft is ridiculous. The implications that each has on that accused’s life are so different. If you’re wrongly accused of car theft, then it’s a big mess for you to clear up, but if there’s no evidence, it will blow over. If someone’s accused of rape, even if it turns out to be a false accusation, then they’ll never gain some people’s trust back. I know that most decent people would realise the truth to the situation, but some people will always be wary of the accused. So I dont think that the accuser should be treated any differently to any other cases of false allegation in that they shouldn’t face extra charges. Rather, the _accused_ should have the chance to ensure that their life and their relationships are damaged as little as possible, that they can carry on as close to normal, and that their reputation is not sullied. If this needs media coverage, or counselling then make the accuser pay, but that’s the only way that they should be treated differntly. Obviously, the last paragraph can only really refer to deliberate false accusations. Realise that now I’ve read the rest of the thread. In other cases, I think that the life of the accused should still get help in getting back to normal, and this should come from the State. Not quite sure if this is what you’re all arguing about, but it’s just my view! Harry ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/26 "2005-01-18T02:33:08Z")
> [@lee](#): > > [This article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38006-2004Nov9.html) discusses a case in which a young woman recanted an allegation of rape and was convicted of making a false allegation. She had been raped. > > Why should false allegation of rape be any different than false allegation of any other crime? Accusing someone of murder is not treated same as killing someone. Why should accusing someone of rape merit the same as punishment as rape? I don’t see any reference in the article to the recanting of any rape allegation, much less subsequent conviction for making a false allegation. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/27 "2005-01-18T02:53:32Z")
Here’s an article about a study re false rape accusations showing false accusation of rape at around 40%. I had no idea it was anywhere bear that high. [RESEARCH SHOWS FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF RAPE COMMON](http://www.newswithviews.com/Sacks/glenn12.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/28 "2005-01-18T02:59:46Z")
I find the information in that article extremely fishy. It doesn’t give details about how this alleged study was conducted, how the subjects were selected, how they were reviwed, etc. 40% sounds off the charts ridiculous. Pending sme actual details I have to give that article a great big :dubious: . ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/29 "2005-01-18T03:17:28Z")
I have a lot of issues with that article, including its use of Linda Feinstein to support its argument. According to the article, she says that half of rape claims never happened. Yet her book, which I cited to in the earlier thread, says that false claims, while pernicious, are extremely rare, and are usually extremely easy for the police to spot and deal with at an earlier stage. I have never seen this quote from her before, and would be very interested to see from where it came. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/30 "2005-01-18T03:41:25Z")
Several years ago there was a well-publicized case in my hometown involving a woman who’d been bullied into recanting a rape accusation by the police, and then prosecuted for making a false accusation. I am disinclined to believe that every person who eventually recants really made a false accusation. When faced with the possibility that she’s going to have to testify in court, have her private life paraded before the public eye, and possibly be accused of being some scheming seductress who “cries rape” out of spite, it’s unfortunate but not surprising that some rape victims might prefer to say the whole thing never happened. I’d think this would be especially true in cases where the rapist was known to the victim, or cases where the defendant came across like a normal guy and not a thug. I’ve heard many survivors of rape and other sexual assault minimize what happened to them when talking about it. They often seem to feel guilty that they were so upset about something that could have been worse. If they were assaulted, they feel they shouldn’t complain because they could have been raped. If they were raped, they feel they shouldn’t complain because they could have been beaten or murdered as well. I don’t think it would be hard to convince some rape victims to say that what happened to them wasn’t “really” rape because it wasn’t as violent as some rapes. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/31 "2005-01-18T18:05:36Z")
> [@buns3000](#): > > I don’t see any reference in the article to the recanting of any rape allegation, much less subsequent conviction for making a false allegation. From the article: > [@](#): > > Kiessling said that the girl, then seven months pregnant, told her mother she was being abused.\*\* The girl had previously made such claims but recanted and was, in fact, convicted of making false accusations.\*\* This time, she said, there was a videotape that would prove her allegations. The abuse in question was rape leading to her pregnancy. ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/32 "2005-01-19T02:07:33Z")
Sorry, my bad… although I’m not outraged when somebody is convicted of making a false accusation if they make an allegation and then _recant_. As I understand it, that is effectively admitting the falsity of the accusation. Unless she pleaded guilty to the false accusation charge, she would’ve had every opportunity to prove the accusation was, in fact, true at her trial… albeit that she might destroy her credibility in the process, having already recanted it. ---
**Author:** ![Demorian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demorian/32/7273_2.png) [@Demorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demorian)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/33 "2005-01-19T02:16:11Z")
From far less personal experience than I would really prefer, I have to chip in and say that preventing false accusations of rape can best be prevented by not engaging in sexual intercourse with anything that moves, at least on the first night you date it. Much like my first (flamed) suggestion in the preventing rape thread, the best protection is common sense. For ladies, be discriminating and know how to defend yourself. For men, um, keep it zipped for a few nights. You can jerk off afterwards, and no one is hurt. If, as a male or female, you just go galavanting (sp? I’ve never used that word before) around drinking and sleeping with everything, eventually rape is going to come up. Once you establish that you and your lady friend have met under multiple circumstances and she is still willing after being able-minded enough to think about it, you have a much better case (in court, if necessary). As a side bonus, it also helps the whole “not getting STDs from some slut” thing, too. Seriously, it’s gonna get to be that you have to fill out a form in triplicate. It was all a slippery slope starting with the condoms. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/34 "2005-01-19T02:51:00Z")
Well, I spent part of the day doing research work on rape (mainly a different question) but one thing jumped out at me which might explain why some police departments have a higher incidence of false accusations of rape. In Rape and the Limits of Law Reform, by Marsh, Geist, & Caplan, in a discussion on the incidence of false accusations of rape, I came across the following: > [@](#): > > Another officer considered the cases to be unfounded ‘when women placed themselves in that position: hitchhiking at 2 a.m. or getting drunk at a bar and going home with him.’ So if this is the way some police departments are calculating what percentage of women falsely allege rape, then the higher numbers start to make an awful lot of sense. I would suspect something similar is occurring with **EsotericEnigma** ’s police friend. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175/35 "2005-01-19T04:51:05Z")
> [@buns3000](#): > > Sorry, my bad… although I’m not outraged when somebody is convicted of making a false accusation if they make an allegation and then _recant_. As I understand it, that is effectively admitting the falsity of the accusation. Unless she pleaded guilty to the false accusation charge, she would’ve had every opportunity to prove the accusation was, in fact, true at her trial… albeit that she might destroy her credibility in the process, having already recanted it. [This more detailed article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43631-2004Nov11_3.html) > [@](#): > > In an interview with the authorities, Walter Rogers wept and said his stepdaughter was accusing him falsely. He said she had lied about the same thing before, in Mississippi, and said his “world is caving in. Health problems, just getting by. . . . I didn’t do this.” From the same article: > [@](#): > > “Walter was very convincing,” she said. “He convinced me, he convinced social services, the police. He convinced everyone that he had done nothing and that basically he was a saint.” So, she is 16, pregnant with her step-father’s baby, which was conceived through her rape, no one believes her story including her own mother and everyone she knows is probably pressuring her to recant her “lies.” She recants and so you have no sypathy over her conviction on making a false rape accusation? What _would_ garner your sympathy? The pressure to recant a rape allegation or even a just stalking allegation can be enormous. People on whom who you rely for support, people whom you thought cared about you suddenly won’t even speak to you. People talk to you, pressuring you to stop hurting this good person for no reason. Others may threaten you. Threaten to hurt you, rape or kill you even, to show you what real pain is like, because obviously you don’t know, or you would not be telling these lies. And your attacker? He plays the innocent victim to the hilt and taunts you in private, gloating over every indignity you suffer. Authorities threaten to put you away, either as a criminal or a crazy. Threaten to take away your freedom or worse. It is hard enough to go through this as an adult, but as a pregnant teen, I can’t even begin to imagine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/preventing-false-accusations-of-rape/285175.md?page=1)