FBI statistics are that only 1-2% of reported rapes are false. This is the same percentage of false reports as for all other crimes. Also, only one in ten to twenty rapes are reported, and only one in one hundred are prosecuted.
Also, the increasing use of DNA testing in forensics labs has helped overturn false charges and convict ones that did happen. ( a NY Times article on the subject)
I do think it is wrong to assume that the victim is lying and just claiming to be raped to get "revenge" on someone.
Myth: Women lie about being raped or use it to get even with their boyfriends.
This myth is another variation on the theme of blaming the victim. It serves to increase hostility and suspicion toward women. One can find isolated cases of a woman lying about being raped, but this is not the norm. And such cases should not be confused with rapes that are not prosecuted; a lack of evidence for the district attorney to proceed is not the same as a lack of truth. (http://www.calcasa.org/34.0.html)
You're right about the statistics assuming that all convictions were not false, the way they are presented in that flow-chart thingy. (I got that from www.rainn.org)
Also, the increasing use of DNA testing in forensics labs has helped overturn false charges and convict ones that did happen. ( a NY Times article on the subject)
I do think it is wrong to assume that the victim is lying and just claiming to be raped to get "revenge" on someone.
Myth: Women lie about being raped or use it to get even with their boyfriends.
This myth is another variation on the theme of blaming the victim. It serves to increase hostility and suspicion toward women. One can find isolated cases of a woman lying about being raped, but this is not the norm. And such cases should not be confused with rapes that are not prosecuted; a lack of evidence for the district attorney to proceed is not the same as a lack of truth. (http://www.calcasa.org/34.0.html)
You're right about the statistics assuming that all convictions were not false, the way they are presented in that flow-chart thingy. (I got that from www.rainn.org)
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