A basic or common sense definition of a false allegation of rape is, the description of non-consensual sex that never actually occurred (Rumney, 2006). This appears straight forward however raises questions about the pervasiveness of false allegations as criminal justice professionals would argue that these numbers are quite high, whereas researchers and the literature around the area would argue that these numbers are in fact quite low. This article examines what constitutes a false allegation of rape and why the disparity in estimated numbers of false allegations between researchers and Criminal Justice Professionals is so great. It argues that this disparity is caused as researchers and criminal justice professionals are talking at cross-purposes. This can be understood by breaking down ‘false allegation’ into two other terms, ‘false complaint’ and ‘false account’. …show more content…
Much of the research in this area finds that false allegations tend to be quite low, for example Gunby et al. finds that the levels of false rape reports are no different to or in fact may be potentially lower than the levels of false complaints made in other crimes, and found that focus group participants believed false allegations to be infrequent (Gunby et al., 2013). Therefore a clear definition of what a false allegation of rape is, is vital if we are to accurately depict the prevalence of false allegations (Hunt et
The trial of 19 year old Owen Laurie has brought into light the alarming rate in which Sexual assault is rising. The issue that rages on in Colleges is said to be making its way to high schools and primary school. In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Division of Violence Prevention, 19% of Undergraduate women experienced
Gender is predominating in the criminal justice system and sexual assault exemplifies the contrast found between the traditional and non-traditional justice systems employed over time. Sexual assault poses a social threat to all aspects of community, spreading insecurity in 43400 victims across Australia and 13300 victims in NSW alone as indicated in the recent Australian Bureau of Statistics Crime Victimisation Report. (ABS 2011, p. 40) There has also been an increase of sexual assault by 51% since 1995 with an average of 4% every year. (ABS 2010) Another major issue within the boundaries of sexual assault is that it holds one...
Sexual assault is the act of sexual intercourse without consent of the other person according to New South Wales Consolidation Act of 1900 (Austlii 2011) and is also described by the Australian Standard Offence Classification as ‘non-consensual’ acts or intents of sexual nature (ASOC 2008, p. 31) has become one of the most predominate crimes creating social harm in Australia. Social harm is defined as the negative influence through consequences impacting from the individual to the living conditions of the surrounding public (Cain & Howe 2008, p. 26). Sexual assault poses a social threat to all aspects of community, spreading insecurity in the 9000 victims across Australia and 1900 victims in NSW alone as indicated in the Australian Bureau of Statistics Crime Victimisation Report (ABS 2011, p. 40). This is supported by the victimization rate of all sexually assaulted victims between ages 10 to 14 being 4 times greater than all the other age groups (ABS 2010). Another major issue within the boundaries of sexual assault is that it holds one of the lowest prosecution rates with only 1 in 10 incidents able to prosecute the offender as guilty (Fitzgerald 2006, Pg. 1). The abundance of statistics and reports conducted all imply that sexual assault is still a predominate issue of crime within Australia.
The complainant of a sexual offence could previously be cross-examined about being a prostitute or about indiscriminate promiscuity in order to show that she was not to be trusted. There was a tendency to explore the victim’s past sexual experience to...
False Reporting: Although The Hunting Ground previewed the percentage of false reporting to be very low; (roughly 2-8%) it is still a problem and does occur and does affect the sexual assault ratio. One of the presidents of a University said, that they take false reporting seriously and that for them it one major contributor to why they don’t follow through on sexual assault cases as soon as their reported because they spend more time making sure its not a false report.
According to RAINN, (2009) approximately 10 per cent of all victims of sexual assault and abuse are adult and juvenile males. In terms of the nature of assault, real figures include a compendium of reported incidents ranging from unwanted sexual touching to forced penetration. To qualify this statement, it must be understood that the percentage does not reflect a vast number of crimes that go unreported due to issues that will be discussed in the present paper.
Rape myths are false, biased or cliché convictions about assault, assault casualties and attackers which may have the impact of preventing many examples from claiming constrained sex are really assault. To get a better understanding of rape myths, one should first comprehend the lawful meaning of Rape. The Sexual Offenses Act (2003) has given a definition of Rape, which is:
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights how vulnerable women are compared to men. Sexual assault is publicised and exposed in the media, however is often
Lawmakers and the criminal justice system overlook marital rape, Das (2010) states those survivors’ experiences of being told that their victimization is “not a real rape” and encountering victim-blaming attitudes may lead to less filing of complaints and reporting to police. Women have reported experiencing harsh and insensitive treatment from the criminal justice system when trying to report abuse or marital rape. Social stigmatization, cultural traditions, and gender bias are structural hurdles that discourage women from reporting acts of sexual violence, especially experiences of marital rape (Prasad,
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
Gunby, C., Carline, A., & Beynon, C. (2013). Regretting it after? Focus group perspective on alcohol consumption, nonconsensual sex and false allegations of rape. Social & Legal Studies 22(1). 87.
Many of the episodes feature stranger-rape cases, those in which the attacker and victim are not acquainted, as well as cases with female attackers. The high proportion of episodes featuring these types of cases lead one to falsely believe that stranger-rape and cases with a female perpetrator are common occurrences. This elicited a strong response by a blogger and rape victim, Melissa McEwan. She asserts that Law & Order: SVU misrepresents the truth behind rape by having disproportionate amounts of stranger-rape cases, cases involving female attackers, and victims making false accusations (McEwan). Others feel as though Law & Order: SVU is giving off a false assurance that the police will believe the rape victim’s claim and investigate it to as full an extent as the detectives on the show do. For example, Sara Alcid, a reproductive health and justice advocate, stresses that investigators may assume a victim to be lying simply based on the victim’s drug or alcohol habits, his or her occupation, especially when involving prostitution, and relation to the accused rapist. Her main point, however is much broader: that Law & Order: SVU misrepresents rape, both at the time of the attack and in the aftermath
Rape and sexual violence is a very serious problem that affects millions of people each year. Rape is someone taking advantage of another person sexually. Sexual assault can be verbal, physical, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. ("Sexual Assault.") Rape is one of the most underreported crimes. In 2002, only thirty-nine percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law officials. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sheet.") Victims sometimes do not report that they have raped because of shame or feeling that it was their fault. It is never the victim's fault. "Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in a whole or in partly responsible for what had happened to them. Most victims believe this. ("Myths and Facts about Sexual Violence.")
In 1983-1984 Diana Russell did a study of community women in San Francisco that revealed that 24% of women had experienced a completed rape and 44% had experienced a completed or attempted rape. A national random survey of college women found that one in four had experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetime and 84% of the women knew their attacker (Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski, 1987) (Campbell and Wasco, 2005).
Victims who were under the influence may feel as though their report won’t be validated since they chose to go out and chose to get drunk. Judge Lindsay Kushner made the claim that, “yes, you can drink yourself daft and you can use your body how you want, but if you do you are more likely to get raped.” But what must be noted is that the victim did not choose to get raped and the intent of rape ultimately lies with the perpetrator. This point of view emphasizes the traditional ideology of gender roles in sexual assault cases when women are the