Should women be held accountable for false rape allegations?

Question

(i.e. If they are found within a court of law to be lying about the rape.)

Answer 1

You're damn right they should! They have, effectively, ruined the life of another, all because of their selfishness and whatever else would drive a person to be so cruel. And depending upon the notariety of the case, they may have had their story plastered all over the news (tv/radio/newspaper). I think there needs to be a law assigned specifically for that, and it would carry the same sentence length as the crime they have accused the other party of...

Answer 2

Yes, if the case is found to be false. The court better have, made throughout investigation. I cannot imagine what sick person would actually want to lie about being raped But if the case is dropped due to lack of evidence, then NO, because its common that the court doesn't do their job properly. Like I said before, its very unlikely that someone would lie about such a horrible ordeal unless they have no soul. Its not only women who get raped its men too. So both men and women should be held accountable for false rape allegations. Now if it was a child (a la atonement the film), that is a different kettle of fish

Answer 3

This is interesting because in the UK, the tabloids seem to print some sordid tale of a woman falsely accusing some poor man of rape once or twice a month.

What you really should be asking is: Why is there such an environment in the UK where; (a) People actually DO falsely accuse others and (b) why do real rape cases get either thrown out, never see court or the person who actually did commit the crime of rape walks free?

The two are tied together. Because the crime of rape carries so little weight in this country, it is much easier for those who falsely accuse to not really consider the brevity of the situation. It's almost as if they are trying to make a soap opera come to life.

If the crime of rape were taken more seriously and women who reported it were treated as if the crime were taken seriously, there would be less frivolity in the reporting and therefore less false accusations.

People would think twice about it if they knew that the person who they are falsely accusing would be going to jail for years. It wouldn't be a game anymore.

Until the crime is taken seriously there will continue to be women who will use a false accusation as a way of "covering themselves" or "getting back" at others.

It is a sad state of affairs in both directions. Even men don't take it seriously in the UK in contrast to the US where it is majour news to hear of a woman who falsely accuses for this crime. It is taken more seriously in the states and you hardly ever hear men make jokes about it. If you do hear these kinds of jokes then they are from the young and ignorant - not those who understand what it means to spend years in prison.

In the states, the concept of putting the victim on trial, ie; "what she was wearing", "how much she drank", "how she behaved", etc. is much less common place as it is in the UK. Here, you can still find judges who will flat out blame the victim and then, once again, the case gets thrown out.

The bottom line is: Forcing another human being to have sex with you or penetrating their bodies with objects is rape. It is a crime and it is never the victim's fault.

If that were better understood instead of psuedo-intellectuals "debating" it, there would be less room for false accusations.

Answer 4

Hell yes! Okay, a woman who falsely claims rape makes it ten time harder on any woman who is actually raped after her. The man who was accused of rape (if they single out a man) has the stigma of being accused of rape. The time people spend working on her supposed rape case, someone who was actually raped could be getting less attention and her case could be getting less attention than it deserves.

If I could I would beat up anyone who cries rape when nothing occurred, or when the sex was actually consensual just as badly as I would beat up any rapist.

EDIT: I do not know any actual statistics, but a girl claimed she was raped near the college I went to, which happened to be a private all women's college. This girl was not attacked but the fact that it was within a block of a woman's college had the entire campus worried until word got out she had made the whole thing up.

Answer 5

The laws need a severe overhaul. Both parties NEED to remain entirely anonymous UNTIL a verdict is reached. If the alleged (note, that word is all too often missing from headlines - implying automatic guilt) rapist is found guilty - his name should be given, just as any other crime would be, however, if the accuser is found to be guilty (beyond a reasonable doubt) of lying then her name should receive equal treatment.
This way, no one has anything to fear...except for the criminal (whether that be a liar trying to destroy a man's life - or a rapist).
The claim that naming a woman who falsely accuses would stop other victims coming forward is little more than an excuse to save women from repercussions for their misdeeds. If the reason "it stops other women coming forward" is truly the reason not to name a false-accuser, then those proclaiming this should instead be working on stopping the false-accusers, NOT defending them.

Answer 6

That's a very pertinent question. Although I think women have been victims of sexual assault since the beginning of times, and still are despite strong publicity and awareness in recent years to put an end to it, I have to admit that the courts should be careful in judging some alleged cases of rape. A complete investigation is required before any conviction.
False allegations aren't acceptable and deserve to get the appropriate penalty.

Answer 7

yeah, of course. but that would be tricky ...

the risk of being tried for making a false allegation may prevent even more women from coming forward & reporting an actual rape, especially if it's one that would be hard to prove.

do you have any stats on the percentage of false allegations that are made? just wondering how widespread this issue is, how many women sign up for the treatment they get when reporting a rape when they haven't even been raped. i know when one is actually raped they get treated like they're making up the story as it is.

Answer 8

There is already a crime called perjury. I see no reason why a charge of perjury would not apply in such a case.

Rebel F: It goes with out saying that BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT means that if there is ANY indication or proof that the woman was simply mistaken instead of outright lying, that woman would not be charged, let alone merely not being able to secure a rape conviction.

Answer 9

YES!!!!

She should have to face some time in jail for lying. after all the Man she is lying about has his whole life ruined.

If this is done more often then Women would think twice about lying in court. and it would help REAL rape victims.

Answer 10

We have existing laws against, e.g. filing a false police report and perjury. These are handled at the discretion of the prosecutor, who knows better than the public whether there is a reasonable chance of conviction.

We also have civil laws covering slander and libel. The accused can challenge the accuser there. And I suspect, in a high profile case, one just might see men's and civil liberties organizations offering to help.