What do you think of this story of a woman who was falsely accused of rape?

Question

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=480755&in_page_id=1770

(1) What do you think about this woman's ordeal? Do you think the police are taking accusations of rape too seriously if someone could be subjected to this?

(2) The article says this:

"The man suggested meeting at Ms Hutchison's home in Worthing, West Sussex, and turned up at 11am on a Thursday in June with two bottles of wine."

""I was taken aback because the wine made it very clear he was there for sex," she said."

Do you think it is fair to say that if someone is willing to drink alcohol they consent to sex?

Considering if a women is drunk and a man has sex with her, and she later claims it was rape, under British law the burden of proof is on him to show the steps he took to ensure consent, should she have been presumed a rapist until she has shown she was not in a court of law, considering alcohol was involved?

(3) Catherine Comins has stated that "sometimes men who are unjustly accused of rape can gain from the experience". Do you think that sometimes women can gain from this experience too and that this woman may have?

(4) She says she feels like she was the one who was raped. What punishment should the man get for doing this?

Oh yeah and (5) Why is she asking how she could rape a man if it was alleged that he was drugged?

Answer 1

The laws about rape are similar between America & England - in short, when rape is the issue - it's a case of Guilty until proven Innocent (the accused has their face/details plastered throughout the media, the word "alleged" is completely ommitted from practically all news sources, and the accuser retains full anonymity - thus allowing the people to make whatever assumption they so wish).

However, I find it startling that this has made the news... many men are falsely accused of rape, and only a handful ever make it to the newspapers, online or physically. It seems to me, this woman's situation has made the news because... well, because she's a woman. She felt raped by his false allegation... just like most guys who are false accused of rape do too.

The police are known for taking rape claims too seriuosly, but just because this instance is of a woman does not mean the police should have take the accusation any less seriously than had the sexes been reversed. Hopefully, as more feminists read this article, it might open their eyes to the kind of damage the "rape industry" is causing to individuals... though i doubt they will care much until more & more women are adversely affected by these laws, only then will they actually begin complaining about the situation.

No, she shouldn't be presumed a rapist just because of wine... the same for any man in her situation, though you are spot-on with your observation that the burden of proof is always on him, backing up what I said above; the law says when a rape accusation is made, it is a case of guilty until proven innocent.

ETA: shingoshidao, do you think that women who falsely accuse should also be treated that way? After all, it's incredibly common in women and virtually unheard of for men (this is the first ever case I've heard of in my life of a man falsely accusing a woman).

Answer 2

You have asked a very long question but I thought I would take a look.

1. Yes they do take it too seriously when there is so many false accusations to muddy the water

2. Well no, but you could rightly think they you may get lucky but certainly not a given.

Your last paragraph
I would think that if it is law, stupid as it is, that yes she should be treated as the male population are and that is to have her prove the steps taken to ensure consent.

I was a little bemused by her statement
"How could a small woman date-rape a powerfully built, 6ft tall man?
Isnt that the reason to have alcohol or drugs so it would make it easier once they are incapable of movement.

edit ( dam I forgot your other 3 questions)
3. I think that statement is a crock of sh*t so false accusations against men are lessened in impact. No I dont think she would have learned from it like I stated but what you could learn is not to date and to hate the opposite sex and law and police.
4. If it is a false accusation then the man should get what the woman would have gotten. The only problem with that is the woman would probably only get a good behaviour bond but reversed the man would get much much more. So that would back fire for women.
5. Like I said earlier, I am bemused why she would think she cant rape a drugged person.

Answer 3

I like louis' answer.
Add to that, I think those who make false accusations (no matter what) should receive the maximum sentence the accused could have received had they been found guilty.

What makes this newsworthy is that of the sex of the "offender"/"victim". False claims of rape and/or sexual assault are far too common and verdicts are all too often based on emotion instead of evidence.

According to a nine-year study conducted by former Purdue sociologist Eugene J. Kanin, in over 40 percent of the cases reviewed, the complainants eventually admitted that no rape had occurred (Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1994). Kanin also studied rape allegations in two large Midwestern universities and found that 50 percent of the allegations were recanted by the accuser.

Some feminists claim that only 2% of all rape claims are false, which is not based on any known study or other factual information other than a book by Susan Brownmiller, which was proven to have been unscientific and sexist.

Commencing in 1989 in cases of rape and rape/murder
where there has already been either an arrest or an indictment, the FBI has conducted large numbers of DNA tests “to confirm or exclude the person. In 25 percent of the cases where they can get a result, they excluded the primary suspect.” This is only when DNA evidence is available.

In 1985 the Air Force conducted a study of 556 rape accusations. Over one quarter of the accusers admitted, either just before they took a lie detector test of after they had failed it, that no rape occurred. A further investigation by independent reviewers found that 60 percent of the original rape allegations were false.

According to a 1996 Department of Justice Report, of the roughly 10,000 sexual assault cases analyzed with DNA evidence over the previous seven years, 2,000 excluded the primary suspect, and another 2,000 were inconclusive. The report notes that these figures mirror an informal National Institute of Justice survey of private laboratories, and suggests that there exists "some strong, underlying systemic problems that generate erroneous accusations and convictions."

Linda Fairstein, former head of the New York County District Attorney's Sex Crimes Unit. Fairstein, the author of Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape, says, "there are about 4,000 reports of rape each year in Manhattan. Of these, about half simply did not happen."

Prosecutors systematically refuse to prosecute the perpetrators of false rape allegations.

Answer 4

It shows what a bombshell this is .

Alcohol does not mean sex .

The man in this case did frack up a womans life .My heart goes out to the woman .

Unfortunaley police have no choice but to investigate .

I beleive that we make and disband laws very rapidly .

The first thing that needs to change is tolerance of false allegations .

I for one cannot imagine unjustly accusing a woman of rape .

What that man did was sick and wrong .

There is no easy answer.

Woman should read this as how powerfuly damaging like this can be to a man . I think that sometimes for both genders it is hard to see the other side unless one's own gender is impacted.Very clearly this shows to woman what a man would go through in a format women can comprehend .

Answer 5

I am not familiar enough with laws in the UK but here in the U.S.A. we are innocent until proved guilty and it sounds as if some pretty harsh treatment went on which suggests to me a guilty until you prove yourself innocent situation was happening. That guy has some serious guilt issues going on and as he probably never learned to deal with feelings of guilt he reversed the blame to the woman involved. What a horrible ordeal this lady and her family had to go through for a liar.

And, no I do not think that if someone is willing to drink they consent to sex. Sometimes it is fun to have some afternoon drinks to relax without sex having to be involved. I personally prefer sex when I am not under the influence of alcohol, it seems to be more enjoyable but that may not be how everyone feels about it.

I am still for innocent until proved guilty on all accounts and for human decency.

Answer 6

Thank you for posting this story. I think that if women read this, they will have a better understanding of what men go through when they are falsely accused of rape, which happens quite a bit more frequently than the other way around -(women being falsely accused of rape). People need to understand the impact of such allegations on a person's life. Often, they can be even worse than what this woman says she went through. Some people lose their jobs, their spouses, their kids, their reputations, money (defending themselves legally)...and so much more, over false allegations. The damage is usually permanent in nature. Nothing happens to the person who falsely accuses...and yes, I fully believe that THAT is crime. It should be stiffly punished.

Answer 7

It is interesting that this has been reported - in the woman's view and very sympathetic toward her - when this kind of false accusation has ruined many men's lives in the past. I'm not saying that it is right, that his false accusation is justified in any way, but the newspapers would be filled to the brim if all the cases of women falsely accusing men of rape were reported in the same lengthy and sympathetic manner.

As for the case itself....

Firstly, bringing wine to a house DOES NOT immediately mean sex. It could have, certainly, but her assertion that this was the case makes her look foolish. Also, she bought all this trouble when she threatened to tell his wife. He would have walked out and never contacted her again if he had not been threatened in that way. Was he right in how he conducted himself - lying about his marriage and making false promises? Absolutely not. But she was equally wrong in her threat. It seems she didn't want to take any responsibility for her actions in the affair.

Answer 8

I found this info online regarding the use of "date rape drugs", and find it interesting that the man in question would remember the encounter: "The use of alcohol and drugs for inappropriate and criminal sexual behavior is definitely worth mentioning here. Many women are victims of this practice, and have been raped while under the influence of alcohol or drugs - being more vulnerable than if they were sober. One of the more frightening drugs used for the purpose of date rape is "GHB", which is basically drain cleaner mixed with either floor stripper or degreasing solvent. It is tasteless, odorless and colorless, making it easy to slip into someone's drink without the person realizing it. It often renders the victim absolutely immobile, seldom able to speak and often unconscious. Obviously, under these circumstances, it is impossible for the victim to defend herself at all or even yell for help. Another more common 'date-rape" drug which has been wreaking havoc in universities and colleges across the continent is Rohypnol made by Hoffman-La Roche, Inc. Commonly known as "roofies" it shares many similarities with GHB but is more difficult to detect and has the further effect of inhibiting memory of events which occur while under its influence."
If this incident had occurred as he claimed, the man would have been insensible. He also probably would not have had an erection because of that, so I'm curious if a rape could even have happenend, and if it did, he would have had a hazy memory of it at best. Knowing all this, along with the lack of evidence, is probably why the charges were dropped.

Answer 9

I'm convinced that false accusations should be punished by jail time, proportionate to the time that the accused would face if convicted. Warren Farrell cites studies that indicate that 40-60% of rape charges filed by women are false, and interviews with women who voluntarily withdrew the charges show that the leading reasons that they filed the charges included revenge, morning-after regrets for voluntary sex, and needing an excuse for some failure to meet some obligation (late to work, etc.). The triviality of these reasons just shows how inconsequential filing false rape charges has become for women.
___And as many man who have been been through hostile divorces can attest, false abuse complaints are pretty much routine strategies to cast the man as a moral leper and gain advantageous treatment in court, especially in custody battles. After the initial filing of charges, they are withdrawn "without prejudice", to give the appearance of a magnanimous gesture, while leaving the unresolved charge on the record, putting the man in the position of looking obsessive if he contests the original charge that has been nominally stripped of its legal force. Their presence on the record can appear to feminist-leaning judges to show the reasonableness of the woman, who is assumed to have withdrawn the charges in order not to ruin the life of the father of her children, after their wake-up-call function has been accomplished.
___The credulity towards women's charges against men that law enforcement, legislators, and judges have adopted in many areas, at the behest of feminism, is encouragement for this kind of evil, sleazy deception.
___There's more: a couple I know in California, had a mutual, physically inconsequential slapping match, and the neighbors called the cops. They took the husband away, despite the wife's protests that the fight was mutual and inconsequential. The guy did jail time, was saddled with thousands of dollars in fines, lost his driver's license, and had to go into a mandatory antibuse program (which was administered weekly at a location an hour away by bus, when more local sites were available, hindering his ability to work). His wife went to court and tried to get the judge to lighten up, since these punishments had detrimental effects on her life, and were just unreasonable, but it was to no avail. Both spouses had their lives ruined for 5 years, all over a couple of mutual face-slaps. It seems as if the justice system was more interested in forcing her to divorce him than in any sort of justice. And the cops involved saw themselves as protectors and crusaders, and were unreasonable in their zeal. But then this is pretty much what feminism wants.
___The above story reminded me of my friends in California, since the woman in it was a victim of policies that have been pressed by feminism. I'm surprised that this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. There are certainly a lot of men out there who might have some interest in women getting a taste of their own medicine, but apparently men are a lot less vindictive than feminists, and they realize that the individual women on whom they'd take their revenge, if they did so, are not the women responsible for the laws and policies of feminism. And that such ruination would be disproportionate to whatever ill they done to the men.
___Men in general deserve some credit for not doing more of this sort of thing. As a gender, they demonstrate a lot more forgiveness than feminsts show, and a greater sanity about distinguishing the deeds of individual women from those of the feminist movement.
___Men could adopt feminism's hypersensitivity regarding sexual harrassment, and filed complaints for every anti-male offhand comment heard in the workplace, and a lot more women could feel the consequences of feminism's unreasonableness. But men generally aren't like this.
___What is particularly appallling is the way so many feminists are in denial, and refuse to be moved by fact-checkings that show that a huge proportion of the "evidence" on which feminism's positions are based is simply false. Instead, feminist theory keeps generating arcane methodologies that in essence claim that logic is a tool of the patriarchy, and that facts aren't really true.

Answer 10

The man should have had his picture posted, along with his physical description and state of health, in every paper in England by court order, just as it is here for drunk driving, vandalism, etc. He should have had to pay for all of her legal expenses. In other words, every possible opportunity to publicly brand him and ruin his status in society should have been availed by the court.