# Should false rape accusations be prosecuted seriously as actual rape? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 6, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356 "2016-02-06T20:15:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/121 "2016-02-08T09:55:24Z")
False rape accusations (those that are provable false – like she or he was caught on camera being in another city at the time or something, and not just a different interpretation of what happened on the night) should be prosecuted as a crime doing harm to the extend the man would have suffered had he been convicted. Plus an extra sentence for wasting police and court resources. ---
**Author:** ![spanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@spanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spanna)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/122 "2016-02-08T12:16:22Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You think 25% of women will lie about rape? :eek: 25% of men will rape to get sex … seriously? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/123 "2016-02-08T13:48:32Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > What about their damaged reputations? We have defamation laws. If someone attempts to harm you by defaming your character, you can sue for damage. What more do you want? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/124 "2016-02-08T14:01:38Z")
> [@spanna](#): > > :eek: > > 25% of men will rape to get sex … seriously? Yeah…somebodies credibility bus just went off a cliff and burst into flames mid air… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/125 "2016-02-08T14:20:59Z")
> [@spanna](#): > > :eek: > > 25% of men will rape to get sex … seriously? I’m basing that on the surveys that show where the prevailing conditions allow for it, 20- 25% of men _do_ rape - See e.g. [South Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#South_Africa), [Cambodia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#Cambodia), [China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#China)… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/126 "2016-02-08T14:21:59Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Yeah…somebodies credibility bus just went off a cliff and burst into flames mid air… You have numbers that dismiss my numbers? Bring them. ---
**Author:** ![Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearl_Clutching_Provocateur)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/127 "2016-02-09T05:27:09Z")
Yeah, false allegations never happen. No woman ever lies. > **[Porn star drops rough sex lawsuit against Josh Duggar](https://pagesix.com/2016/02/08/porn-star-drops-rough-sex-lawsuit-against-josh-duggar/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=P6Facebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow)** > > Danica Dillon has dropped her $500,000 lawsuit amid evidence that her claims were fabricated. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/128 "2016-02-09T11:10:35Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Yeah, false allegations never happen. No woman ever lies. Naah, only Women made of Straw don’t lie, everyone know that. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/129 "2016-02-09T11:12:02Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Yeah…somebodies credibility bus just went off a cliff and burst into flames mid air… > [@MrDibble](#): > > You have numbers that dismiss my numbers? Bring them. Still waiting, **billfish** … ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/130 "2016-02-09T13:37:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’m basing that on the surveys that show where the prevailing conditions allow for it, 20- 25% of men _do_ rape - See e.g. [South Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#South_Africa), [Cambodia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#Cambodia), [China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#China)… I live in Cambodia these days. Many Khmer women are seeking out white Western men not least because they have a reputation for being gentlemen, who do not hit/rape women. I guess that’s white privilege and I check it out daily. Can’t say I see much reason to change anything, since the reputation has not come about ex nihilo, and I’m not about to start beating up girls to dismantle a privilege. Rape is almost never prosecuted here, but I hardly see any comparison to the USA / Europe. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/131 "2016-02-09T14:20:58Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’m basing that on the surveys that show where the prevailing conditions allow for it, 20- 25% of men _do_ rape - See e.g. [South Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#South_Africa), [Cambodia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#Cambodia), [China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics#China)… Oh, you meant the crappy countries. Maybe you should move to a country with a better class of people. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/132 "2016-02-09T14:48:47Z")
Oh, meant to say “rappy” countries, not “crappy”. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/133 "2016-02-09T17:49:05Z")
Let me toss out another policy reason that the penalty for a false accusation should not be so devastating: it might deter a woman who falsely accused from recanting. [For example:](http://articles.dailypress.com/2012-12-21/news/dp-nws-montgomery-writ-1222-20121221_1_johnathon-montgomery-elizabeth-paige-coast-sexual-assault-story) > [@](#): > > Coast came forward in 2008 to accuse Montgomery of sexually assaulting her eight years earlier. At the time, Coast was 10 years old, and Montgomery was 14. There was no forensic evidence, and a judge sent Montgomery to prison solely on Coast’s testimony. > > A few weeks ago, she stunned police and prosecutors by recanting. She has now been charged with perjury. > > At one point during the confession, Konstantinou walked through the original case, noting that Coast fabricated the story for two detectives, her mother and father, plus a a woman whom she considered a mentor. > > “How were you able to keep the details straight if this really didn’t happen?” Konstantinou asked. > > “I’m a good liar,” Coast answered. > > “Now what makes you say that?” the prosecutor asked. > > “I can keep things straight, usually,” Coast replied. “I just, I don’t know. It’s a good question. I don’t remember who I told first, but I came up with the story and I just stuck to that one and I just didn’t deviate from it.” ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/134 "2016-02-09T18:05:21Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Let me toss out another policy reason that the penalty for a false accusation should not be so devastating: it might deter a woman who falsely accused from recanting. > > [For example:](http://articles.dailypress.com/2012-12-21/news/dp-nws-montgomery-writ-1222-20121221_1_johnathon-montgomery-elizabeth-paige-coast-sexual-assault-story) good point… ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/135 "2016-02-09T19:29:11Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Let me toss out another policy reason that the penalty for a false accusation should not be so devastating: it might deter a woman who falsely accused from recanting. I agree that the penalty for false accusations should be lighter, possibly nonexistant, if the accuser recants on their own initiative. Obviously getting the innocent man out of prison is more important than punishing the false accuser. But that doesn’t mean you can’t punish false-accusers who maintain their lies and are discovered in other ways. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/136 "2016-02-09T20:12:55Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Oh, you meant the crappy countries. > > Maybe you should move to a country with a better class of people. You think there’s something fundamentally different in the male mentality in those countries, that 25% of them are, as you put it, “sociopaths”, and the “non-crappy” countries have a better class of men? What would that fundamental difference be? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/137 "2016-02-09T21:21:17Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You think there’s something fundamentally different in the male mentality in those countries, that 25% of them are, as you put it, “sociopaths”, and the “non-crappy” countries have a better class of men? What would that fundamental difference be? Well, SOMETHING is different. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/138 "2016-02-09T23:52:01Z")
It’s interesting how discussions comparing different societies often involve claims along the lines of “this is how men and women are; they will never change” and “that is how people in that society are; they will never change.” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/139 "2016-02-10T06:03:00Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Well, SOMETHING is different. Is it the innate characteristics of the men there, or is it the fact that they’re crappy countries with broken law systems, so the characteristics which are innate to 25% of men everywhere can freely express themselves? Because, given the behaviour of men from the “classier” (:rolleyes:) countries historically, say in Europe and Japan at the end of WWII, I’m inclined to say it’s the latter. At least 25% of men anywhere are going to rape _if they think they can get away with it_. Also, I note you still haven’t actually challenged the numbers. I guess this bus is still on the road… ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356/140 "2016-02-10T09:47:36Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Let me toss out another policy reason that the penalty for a false accusation should not be so devastating: it might deter a woman who falsely accused from recanting. > > [For example:](http://articles.dailypress.com/2012-12-21/news/dp-nws-montgomery-writ-1222-20121221_1_johnathon-montgomery-elizabeth-paige-coast-sexual-assault-story) I think we’d get better results by trying to dissuade them from making the false accusations in the first place rather than making it easy for them to recant. I think it’s less likely that someone who would make such an accusation is suddenly going to see the error of their ways than they are to consider that they may be throwing their own life away before they make it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-false-rape-accusations-be-prosecuted-seriously-as-actual-rape/745356.md?page=8)