2 False rape allegations a month...

[mattnunn]

I don't know if it's because it's a "Newsbeat" article but I'm slightly confused about the tone of this piece.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/21016808

So nationally there has been 35 people charged for making false allegations of rape over the last 17 months (half of which were under 21 and/or suffering a history of mental health issues)

Now if we consider the research suggest that over the same period there were 5,651 succesfull prosecutions for rape then it becomes fairly obvious that in general terms people don't lie about being raped, on the whole.

Suprisingly the Daily Mail have managed to write a more balanced and reasonably article than the BBC.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292465/Wo...

[SpeckledJim]

But how many of the 5,651 successful prosecutions were based on a false accusation? After all, that's the purpose of a false accusation, is it not?

[scenario8]

You'd think from many of the posts on rape cases on these fora that false accusation was at pandemic levels. On the balance of things (and with some knowledge of the subject matter) I'm much more concerned by the levels of rape or sexual assault committed that aren't reported, prosecuted and convicted a little more than the relatively low levels of false accusation. Not that there's much joy in either scenario.

[speedy_thrills]

SpeckledJim said:

But how many of the 5,651 successful prosecutions were based on a false accusation?

But it'd take more hard evidence to get a conviction wouldn't it? I mean without an admission of guilt you couldn't convict on the victims allegations alone.

[Derek Smith]

scenario8 said:

You'd think from many of the posts on rape cases on these fora that false accusation was at pandemic levels. On the balance of things (and with some knowledge of the subject matter) I'm much more concerned by the levels of rape or sexual assault committed that aren't reported, prosecuted and convicted a little more than the relatively low levels of false accusation. Not that there's much joy in either scenario.

Indeed. After 30 years in the job I know of three cases of rape where the accusation was malicious. I've known of rape accusations where there was no rape but an indecent assault, which was due to ignorance of the law.

Yet when I was running ID parades I ran a fraction under 3 a week for Sussex. Whilst identification was almost always positive (and frequently not required due to forensic evidence) the charging level was low due to lack of supporting evidence for the victim.

Further, there seems little doubt that rape is under-reported.

If every rape got as much coverage as each false allegation there would be little room in the Mail.

[MrBrightSi]

As a man i worry often about the threat of false rape accusations. I sometimes feel that in this day and age the crafty and nasty of us are more inclined to use such horrible tactics and as has been said and seen in the papers, you are guilty till proven innocent, judged by tabloids and sentenced by the low brows of the country. I think the people accused deserve anonymity before anything else and if found guilty deserve the maximum stay, if found innocent then they are innocent, no mud sticking non-sense.

[HonestIago]

The BBC...balanced? Don't make me laugh. I'd give the Daily Mail about the same level of credibility (albeit more in this case!)

[TwigtheWonderkid]

I wonder how many women a month are raped but, for a variety of reasons, don't come forward. My guess is more than 2.

[mattnunn]

MrBrightSi said:

As a man i worry often about the threat of false rape accusations. I sometimes feel that in this day and age the crafty and nasty of us are more inclined to use such horrible tactics and as has been said and seen in the papers, you are guilty till proven innocent, judged by tabloids and sentenced by the low brows of the country. I think the people accused deserve anonymity before anything else and if found guilty deserve the maximum stay, if found innocent then they are innocent, no mud sticking non-sense.

I've made a snap judgment based on your car history you're not a footballer so as the stats show you're vanishgly unlikey to be accussed falsely of rape, infact much more likely to be raped which would worry me a lot more...

[MrBrightSi]

mattnunn said:

I've made a snap judgment based on your car history you're not a footballer so as the stats show you're vanishgly unlikey to be accussed falsely of rape, infact much more likely to be raped which would worry me a lot more...

Im hardly the most wealthy, however i wonder if the 3 guys who happily got on that lass from the midlands were, there is an example of the regret leading to rape accusation. Across the pond you hear of this thing quite a lot, just scared that such things could become more common place as people start to clamor about people being rightfully imprisoned for these kind of false allegations.