Sexual Assault Misconceptions

It's hard to convince someone who seems to have already made up their mind, but I'll try anyways.

Here's an overview on False Reporting of Sexual Assault by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, from 2010. It's the top google search for "false rape reports".

Your 8% statistic is correct. The study says:

A review of research finds that the prevalence of false reporting is between 2 percent and 10 percent.

This is based off three studies, totaling about 3,000 cases.

The problem is that the definition of "false reporting" is not universal. While we might think that a "false report" is "proven without a doubt that the accuser lied", here are some reasons that a reported rape might be considered a "false report".

The FBI and IACP have issued guidelines that exclude certain factors, by themselves, from constituting a false report (Lisak et al., 2010, p. 1320). These include:

  • Insufficient evidence to proceed to prosecution

  • Delayed reporting

  • Victims deciding not to cooperate with investigators

  • Inconsistencies in victim statement

While some police departments may follow these guidelines, it is not mandatory, and as a result, many do not. In addition, gaps in law enforcement training may inadvertently encourage identifying any of the following factors as indicators of a false report: delayed reporting, victim indifference to injuries, vagueness, or victim’s attempt to steer away from unsafe details, suspect description, or location of offense (Archambault, 2005). As a result, many reports are classified as “false.”

The conclusion of the overview is that the incidences of "false reports" are inflated. A girl could have been raped on a Saturday, but have been unable to report it until Wednesday. That would be considered a false report. A man could have been drugged and assaulted, and misremembered some facts, getting the case thrown out. That would be a false report.

/r/MensRights Thread Parent Link - sapac.umich.edu