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redqueen

(115,103 posts)
Mon Aug 26, 2013, 11:54 AM Aug 2013

I Am a False Rape Allegation Statistic

MASSIVE trigger warning for the linked piece.

...

So understand: I am a “false rape allegation” statistic. When they wrote their reports, sent the numbers off to the justice department to compile the information, I am down as a liar, a false allegation, even though no charges were ever filed against me. (Don’t know if that’s because they didn’t think they could make a case against me, or because they didn’t want to put a cop’s daughter on trial.) And you know what? I am not the only person. It is horrifying, the number of women that I have met in support groups and activist meetups who experienced very similar things. They too, are false allegation statistics. We were all raped.

So just keep that in mind, when you quote the 6-8% “false allegation” statistic. I know we have to rely on the only information we have, and I use the statistic in conversations, as well. But I always remember that number is certainly not an accurate representation. (Maybe it should always come with an asterisk?)

Please, remember my story when you see “false rape” statistics. Remember my friend, who admitted to a false report charge in order to keep her veteran benefits after being discharged (her rapist’s good friend and direct superior handled the case; a discharge was inevitable.) Remember the middle-aged woman I met, still traumatized, who, as a teenager, recanted her story when her rapist (and stepfather) threatened to kill her family. And the many, many others, all unknown, all forgotten–even in the bare statistics, which are often the only testament to our experiences. And we’re denied even that. Instead, our stories, our traumas, are used to stigmatize and further traumatize new victims. It makes me sick to know MRAs can take our numbers and use them to justify their “bitches be lying” stance. I can’t put into words how devastating that is.

...

http://freethoughtblogs.com/almostdiamonds/2013/08/23/i-am-a-false-rape-allegation-statistic/


This is why any... person... trying to sell that "but false rape statistics!" bullshit here needs to be PPRd immediately IMNSHO.
19 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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I Am a False Rape Allegation Statistic (Original Post) redqueen Aug 2013 OP
I just read a great article on that too ismnotwasm Aug 2013 #1
The minute some guy trots out the "false accusation" argument, I know all I need to know about him. Squinch Aug 2013 #2
Exactly ismnotwasm Aug 2013 #3
Even if some known percentage of rape accusations SheilaT Aug 2013 #4
Why the focus on the 6-8%? blackspade Aug 2013 #5
Because rape apologists. redqueen Aug 2013 #6
Rape apologists are scum. blackspade Aug 2013 #8
they focus to magnify sigmasix Aug 2013 #17
More like 1-2 percent, or lower. caseymoz Aug 2013 #7
I compare this to the Holocaust deniers; 7962 Aug 2013 #9
One question that she didn't address why she didn't call her father... Historic NY Aug 2013 #10
there are a lot of reasons women shut up about rape. many. nt seabeyond Aug 2013 #12
What? redqueen Aug 2013 #13
This message was self-deleted by its author Historic NY Aug 2013 #15
What difference does it make? redqueen Aug 2013 #16
between 2-3%. 8% is unfounded which does NOT translate false allegations. same as other crimes. seabeyond Aug 2013 #11
"men orgs state it at 45%-75%." redqueen Aug 2013 #14
Those are bullshit numbers. blackspade Aug 2013 #18
Oh absolutely ismnotwasm Aug 2013 #19

Squinch

(51,022 posts)
2. The minute some guy trots out the "false accusation" argument, I know all I need to know about him.
Mon Aug 26, 2013, 12:15 PM
Aug 2013
 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
4. Even if some known percentage of rape accusations
Mon Aug 26, 2013, 01:02 PM
Aug 2013

are false, that NEVER negates the horror of rape, and the fact that it must always be taken seriously.

blackspade

(10,056 posts)
8. Rape apologists are scum.
Mon Aug 26, 2013, 02:00 PM
Aug 2013

More like rape enablers.
Why the M$M focus on the 6-8%?
Is there some issue with a huge number of innocent folks in prison for rape?
More than other crimes like murder, robbery, and drugs?

sigmasix

(794 posts)
17. they focus to magnify
Mon Aug 26, 2013, 07:40 PM
Aug 2013

The media and it's owners like to "focus" on these issues because the mere act magnifies the controversy and legitimizes the narrative of rampant false allegations and women that are just jilted/indecisive/troublemakers dominate the justice system's attempts to prosecute the truly guilty. Rape is an ugly, deplorable crime; trivializing it through this sort of willfully ignorant behavior is almost as dispicable.

caseymoz

(5,763 posts)
7. More like 1-2 percent, or lower.
Mon Aug 26, 2013, 01:53 PM
Aug 2013

The only reasons anyone would make a false allegation would mental illness or perhaps stupidity combined with greed.

There's no reward and lot of hassle to making a rape allegation. If anyone makes a false one, they soon learn that.
 

7962

(11,841 posts)
9. I compare this to the Holocaust deniers;
Mon Aug 26, 2013, 02:17 PM
Aug 2013

who say "there werent 6 million killed". OK, was it 5 million? 2 million? Just what number would be acceptable? As a post above mentions, if 6-8% are false, what about the other 92-94% that are true? What number of rapes is "ok" to ANYONE?
Of course, there ARE a tiny number of false rape allegations that are absolutely false. And anyone doing it should be punished. But that in no way diminishes what the HUGE number of real victims go through. My cousin was raped at knifepoint many years ago. We only spoke of it once or twice, and I dont know how she's dealt with it as well as she has. But thankfully the rapist was caught pretty fast and has been in jail for years. She has been fine (outward appearance anyway) and I admire her for her strength.

Response to redqueen (Reply #13)

redqueen

(115,103 posts)
16. What difference does it make?
Mon Aug 26, 2013, 03:31 PM
Aug 2013

Let's say you're right, and if she'd have called in her dad the cops would have listened to him and said "oh sorry sir we won't bother worrying about how our numbers look on account of its your daughter"... you know, despite not knowing what rank he is, if even worked in that department, etc.

That's one. One raped woman removed from the tiny percentage of reported "false rape claims" WHICH ARE MADE BY WOMEN WHO WERE RAPED.

So... again.. what possible difference does that make in the grand scheme of things, or are you only interested in poking holes in her individual story for whatever reason?

 

seabeyond

(110,159 posts)
11. between 2-3%. 8% is unfounded which does NOT translate false allegations. same as other crimes.
Mon Aug 26, 2013, 02:49 PM
Aug 2013

British Home Office study (2005)
A 2005 study, "A gap or a chasm? Attrition in reported rape cases" was the largest and most rigorous study to date commissioned by the British Home Office on UK rape crime, from the initial reporting of a rape through to legal prosecutions. The study was based on 2,643 sexual assault cases (Kelly, Lovett, and Regan, 2005). Of these, police departments classified 8% as false reports.[11]
The researchers noted that some of these classifications were based simply on the personal judgments of the police investigators and were made in violation of official criteria for establishing a false allegation. Closer analysis of this category applying the Home Office counting rules for establishing a false allegation and excluding cases where the application of the cases where confirmation of the designation was uncertain reduced the percentage of false reports to 3%. The researchers concluded that "one cannot take all police designations at face value" and that "[t]here is an over-estimation of the scale of false allegations by both police officers and prosecutors." Moreover, they added:

The interviews with police officers and complainants’ responses show that despite the focus on victim care, a culture of suspicion remains within the police, even amongst some of those who are specialists in rape investigations. There is also a tendency to conflate false allegations with retractions and withdrawals, as if in all such cases no sexual assault occurred. This reproduces an investigative culture in which elements that might permit a designation of a false complaint are emphasised (later sections reveal how this also feeds into withdrawals and designation of ‘insufficient evidence’), at the expense of a careful investigation, in which the evidence collected is evaluated.[11][12][13]

FBI statistics
FBI reports from 1996 consistently put the number of "unfounded" rape accusations around 8%. In contrast, the average rate of unfounded reports for "Index crimes" tracked by the FBI is 2%.[14]
However, "unfounded" is not synonymous with false allegation. Bruce Gross of the Forensic Examiner says that:

This statistic is almost meaningless, as many of the jurisdictions from which the FBI collects data on crime use different definitions of, or criteria for, "unfounded." That is, a report of rape might be classified as unfounded (rather than as forcible rape) if the alleged victim did not try to fight off the suspect, if the alleged perpetrator did not use physical force or a weapon of some sort, if the alleged victim did not sustain any physical injuries, or if the alleged victim and the accused had a prior sexual relationship. Similarly, a report might be deemed unfounded if there is no physical evidence or too many inconsistencies between the accuser's statement and what evidence does exist. As such, although some unfounded cases of rape may be false or fabricated, not all unfounded cases are false.[2]

It is extremely difficult to assess the prevalence of false accusations. Not all jurisdictions have a distinct classification of false accusation, resulting in these cases being combined with other types of cases (eg. where the accuser did not physically resist the suspect or sustain injuries) under headings such as "unfounded" or "unproved." There are many reasons other than falsity that can result in a rape case being closed as unfounded or unproven.


then add on to what this woman is point out. reasons why some women recant. but start with the right numbers. not 6-8%. but a mere 2-3% like ALL crimes.

men orgs state it at 45%-75%. disgusting. simply in the pit of my stomach... disgusting.

ismnotwasm

(42,014 posts)
19. Oh absolutely
Tue Aug 27, 2013, 12:27 AM
Aug 2013

But you'll find the MRA blogosphere full of such crap. They make it up as they go along. They follow the "lies, damn lies and statistics" school of statistical truth. Pure misogyny.

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