Below is my opinion, not an expert’s.

I don’t think it’s the black and white situation you’re making it out to be. It seems to me that justice for anything rape-related is complicated, even if people are insisting that it’s not. It’s not always a violent encounter with a horny stranger in a dark alley.

Unfortunately, judging from the sexual assault sub, a lot of people, victims and non-victims alike, are actually unsure of whether what happened to them was rape. There are people out there that insist that rape IS and SHOULD be obvious from the start, but the evidence of how some victims react to it shows that it’s not always obvious.

Also, it’s probably because if the accused is proven innocent (and actual rape perpetrators are sometimes found innocent), then that means that the girl would have to risk getting punished if she tried to get justice for what happened to her.

I think the accuser should only be punished if there is evidence that she DELIBERATELY lied.