The Scottsboro Boys--falsely accused of rape

Why Would A Woman Lie About Rape?

This question is frequently asked by people who want to inflate rape statistics. Here are some of the answers:

1. Revenge and rage. A woman feels "used" by a man after having had sex with him, or a boyfriend dumps her. Sometimes this is the result of game playing activity that gets out of control.

2. Alibi. She comes from a puritanical background and other people found out she had sex so she claimed "rape" to disclaim responsibility. Or she can claim she was innocent when engaging in adultery. Or she may have gotten pregnant and wants to justify an abortion in an anti-choice community. The recent (and alleged as of May 2005) "Runaway Bride" case is an example of a woman falsely reporting a crime (in this case, kidnapping) as a cover for other activities.

3. Money. Charging celebrities with rape or other crimes can lead to out of court settlements in which the accuser receives considerable sums of money.

4. Attention-seeking and self-delusion. This is common in people with Borderline Personality Disorder and closely related to hypochondriasis and/or Munchausen's syndrome.

5. Divorce or child custody fight. Accusing a husband (or other partner) of rape or domestic violence serves as additional ammunition in dissolving a marriage or gaining custody of children.

6.Pseudo-science. "Recovered Memory Therapy" and other fads encourage mass hysteria in which false accusations are routine.

7. Racism. During the segregation era, white women would frequently victimize black men by claiming they were the subjects of their sexual advances. The Scottsboro Boys is one famous case in which women, in conjunction with racists, used false charges of rape to attempt to legally lynch nine men.

8. Force competition among men. By claiming to be victims, women get men to compete and fight among each other. Patriarchical men, who gain their power by victimizing other men, use the excuse of "protecting women from rape" to attack other men. In other words, women who claim to be victims and rely upon the power structure to "protect" them are falling for the oldest sexist game in the book. The Emmett Till case is a notorious example of this sort of behavior.

9.Corrupt criminal justice system. Prosecutors frequently make reputations for being "tough on crime" by persecuting men and women on trumped up charges of rape and sexual assault. See the William Hetherington case.

10. Mass hysteria. The combination of sexual repression, paranoia, mob psychology and media sensationalism frequently leads to mass delusions in which the innocent are accused of the most outlandish sexual offenses. The McMartin Preschool case is a typical, disgusting example of how innocent people are falsely accused of sex crimes. There's a long history of this sort of thing, from the Salem witch hunts through the lynching of African-Americans. Today's mass hysteria over sex crimes may be just the latest manifestation.

11. "Raising consciousness". Feminists sometimes make up stories about rape in order to "alert" others about the threat of sexual assault. A recent case in which a feminist was charged with making a false report of rape.

One study shows 41 percent of total disposed rape cases were officially declared false during a nine year period, that is, by the complainant’s admission that no rape had occurred and the charge, therefore, was false. The incidence figure was variable from year to year and ranged from a low of 27 percent to a high of 70 percent.

Claims about rape and sexual assault are frequently exaggerated, such as the claim that one out of four college age women will be the victim of a rape/attempted rape. But the reality is quite different. For example, California State University Northridge reports the following number of sex offenses for 2003, on all campus properties:
Rape: 4
Sexual Battery: 12
Statutory Rape: 1
17 cases out of a campus population of several tens of thousands indicates the extremely low incidence of sex offenses on a university setting. Note there is no indication of how many of the alleged victims are men, or perpetrators women. The obvious point is that both men and women commit crimes, and lie about being the victims of crime. Justice is never served by mindless crusades.

William Hetherington, jailed on bogus rape charges

Why is this a critical issue?