One of the community bloggers at Feministing.com criticized this blog without, I would say respectfully, giving us a fair read. She concluded that ". . . the author refers to his 'objectively verifiable data' but never links to a source or names a resource that we could actually verify. How verifiable is that?"
We link to sources throughout this site. I'd gladly discuss with the author of that post underreporting, Fed.R.Evid. 413, the Rape Shield Laws, the use of polygraphs in connection with rape claims -- and any other topic related to this subject if we would both agree to have an open mind with a desire to learn from each other.
Regarding stats: initially, I would note here in passing that a brand new five-year Indian study has been released that we are going to be blogging about in the next several days. It found 18.3 percent rape claims are false (not "unfounded" -- we know the difference between false and unfounded). Now, that 18.3 figure is more than nine times the average of false reporting for all crimes, according to FBI statistics. (The Politics of Sexuality, Barry M. Dank, Editor in Chief, Vol. 3 at 36, n. 8.)
As dramatic as this may seem, other serious studies on the subject of false rape show even higher percentages of falsity. While the numbers vary, every serious study ever conducted on the subject shows that false rape claims are far greater than the two percent claimed by radical feminists.
For example, Professor Eugene Kanin’s landmark study of a mid-size Midwestern city over the course of nine years found that 41 percent of all rape claims were false. http://www.sexcriminals.com/library/doc-1002-1.pdf
“Kanin also studied the police records of two unnamed large state universities and found that in three years, 50 percent of the 64 rapes reported to campus police were determined to be false.” http://backissues.cjrarchives.org/year/97/6/rape.asp Kanin, for the uninitiated, is a feminist icon (aside from his false rape studies, of course!).
In a 1985 study of 556 rape allegations, 27% of the accusers recanted, and an independent evaluation revealed a false accusation rate of 60%. McDowell, Charles P., Ph.D. “False Allegations.” Forensic Science Digest, (publication of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations), Vol. 11, No. 4 (December 1985), p. 64.
Minor studies, such as one from Plano, Texas a couple of months ago, are consistent. The Plano study put the number at 47% false claims.
The radical feminists adhere to the two percent claim despite both the absence of any evidentiary support for the claim, and the presence of irrefutable evidence debunking it. (See, e.g., E. Greer, “The Truth Behind Legal Dominance Feminism’s ‘Two Percent False Claim’ Figure, 33 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 947 (2000). )
The fact is, we don't trust any one study and we feel more comfortable with a range of nine percent to closer to fifty percent. In "Until Proven Innocent," the widely praised (praised even by the New York Times, which the book skewers -- as well as almost every other major U.S. news source) and painstaking study of the Duke Lacrosse non-rape case, Stuart Taylor and Professor K.C. Johnson explain that the exact number of false claims is elusive but "[t]he standard assertion by feminists that only 2 percent" or sexual assault claims "are false, which traces to Susan Brownmiller's 1975 book 'Against Our Will,' is without empirical foundation and belied by a wealth of empirical data. These data suggest that at least 9 percent and probably closer to half" of all sexual assault claims "are false . . . ." (Page 374.)
We find that refreshingly honest as opposed to insisting on an exact number.
And by the way, we happen to agree there are far too many rapes and that we all ought to be on the same side to eradicate them -- date rape drugs and young men who use the bodies of young women as their personal playgrounds -- we have no use for any of it, and we all have a duty to put an end to it. But unfortunately the radical feminists insist that false rape claims are a myth despite irrefutable evidence showing that they are a real problem for innocent men and boys who don't rape. (I wish I could tell you about my work for the falsely accused in my legal practice, or share with you the heartbreaking emails I get -- usually from a female family member of the falsely accused. I get so many emails from people asking for help, I can't answer them all.)
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16 comments:
What a well written and accurate article.
There are two HUGE problems we need to tackle -
1. The scandal of so many of people being raped, often ruining their lives.
2. The scandal of so many people being subject to flase, often malicious, rape allegations, again totally ruing their lives.
However, we cannot really tackle such issues people won't even admit they actually exist in any significant numbers
I wish we could have one Web site that deals with all rape-related issues factually, divorced from gender divisive politics. You are correct: too many lives are being needlessly destroyed and we're so busy fighting with each other when we could be fighting the bad guys -- and gals.
I came here from Feministing, and I must say this isn't what I expected. This was actually very intelligent. You genuinely seem to appreciate that rape is a serious problem. Are you an ACLU attorney? It sounds like it.
I appreciate your honesty in admitting you don't know an exact percentage for false rape claims.
OK, I'm not a troll. The Kanin studies have problems, and I'm sure you know this, with polygraphs. With that said, I, too, think you are to be commended for not claiming you know an exact percentage of false rape claims.
Re: the Kanin studies - I won't belabor this, but I believe the women were told they would be subjected to false rape charges if they recanted, regardless of the polygraphs, and they still recanted. Kanin himself dealt with the polygraph issue and discounted any problems with it. In any event, you are right -- we don't tie ourselves to Kanin's figure.
And Judge, honesty is our hallmark.
P.S. Re: polygrpahs, we've dealt with that issue at various times, most recently here http://falserapesociety.blogspot.com/2008/10/why-should-rape-accusers-be-exempt-from.html
I saw that feministing.com discussion also and think it was out of line. After reading this I agree with you.
I would love to see an honest debate on this issue, without the ridicule from either side.
I'm not trying to piss anyone off, but if feminists are starting from a position that is based on a lie, how can you have any kind of honest debate on the issue?
From DV/Abuse/False Rape accusations, every bit of information (Mis-information?) that is put out by feminist groups are false. But the infiltration into the 2 biggest groups supporting feminism - Government and MSM make it close to impossible to fight the false information being disseminated.
Why can't we all just look at the issue from, instead of a gender perspective, a human perspective. But this will require feminists to acknowledge that false claims not only exist, but must acknowledge that the 2% number isn't even close.
The correct percentage depends on what you mean by "false rape claims." If you're talking about claims that are just reported to the police but not necessarily pursued, the percentage is much higher. If you're talking about stories that women make up about being raped that aren't even reported to the police then the numbers are much higher even than that.
We can't know exactly what the number is, but we can be certain of one thing: a very significant number of innocent men have been convicted of rape and continue to languish under the oppression of the pro-feminist legal system.
Another thing that we need to recognize is that most incidents that we label as "rape" aren't nearly as damaging to the victims as false rape accusations. If you get drunk and your rape takes advantage of you, that's deplorable, but if you are falsely charged with a sex crime then you have a major problem that is going to follow you for the rest of your life. Rape victims are protected, not discriminated against; false accusation victims are discriminated against and humiliated until the day they die.
I would by and large agree, but is it possible that they are reacting out of fear and shame than hatred? For most of modern feminists lives, they have been told half-truths or outright lies. And while indoctrination is useful, as more and more true information comes out, it puts everything they have learned in question.
And honestly, self examination and change is probably the hardest thing for a person to do. Lashing out does tend to be a normal reaction to the situation.
Now, don't get me wrong, when this happens, it is wrong. However, for those in a leadership position of feminism, it is about power and money. And they are NOT going to let that go without a fight. This means that it will be an uphill battle all the way for the truth to come out on a national/world scale. Once it does, VAWA, IMBRA, TRO's/OOP's......all of this will be questioned. That is a lot of power to lose. And it scares them to death (Figuratively speaking)
Wolfboy, excellent points.
Rape victims are protected, not discriminated against>>>
I disagree with this. One of the reasons why rape is so underreported (US Justice Department estimates that 26% of rapes are reported) is that the legal process regularly re-victimizes. Victims often recant, not because their stories are untrue, but because the process itself is humiliating, painful, and often fruitless. The backlog of DNA testing alone is astounding. (Which might be something your group could address; if you're interested in exonerating people, this would certainly be a way to do it.)
And anyone who argues that rape victims are socially protected is avoiding the questions that invariably get asked when a victim does come forward. I fully believe that this often comes out of a need for a "just world." (ie, if she did something to "deserve it" or "make it happen that way," then others can make different choices and they won't be raped. We all know, of course, that this is untrue.)
>>>If you get drunk and your rape takes advantage of you, that's deplorable, but if you are falsely charged with a sex crime then you have a major problem that is going to follow you for the rest of your life.>>>
I have to say that for most victims, being raped is a major problem that follows them around for the rest of their lives. This has been consistently shown in peer reviewed research.
To the last Anonymous poster: although I largely disagree with you, thanks for your thoughtful and civil comments.
I think you have a valid perspective, but from everything I can see, the underreporting stats are overstated since (1) they are based on polls that treat certain non-rape activities as rape, and (2)since they regard every assertion of rape as true -- without regard for the validity of any possible defense and without taking into account false reporting in polls (that's always overlook -- but it's much easier to lie to a pollster that "some guy forced himself on me" than it is to lie to police -- so false reporting in polls is likely much higher than it is for reported rapes).
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