False accusation of rape

A false accusation of rape is the act of claiming that someone has been raped when the rape has never happened.

Causes

Scholars say that there are two reasons for why someone makes a false accusation of rape: deliberate deception (lies) and non-deliberate deception. Non-deliberate deception can be caused by false memories, facilitated communication, or no good reasons at all.

Deliberate deception

Scholars say that those who lie about getting raped may do it for

 producing an alibi
 taking revenge on someone
 getting sympathy or attention

However, mental illnesses may also make someone raise false accusations of rape.

Non-deliberate deception

Further research shows that false accusations of rape can be a result of false memories. False memories can be caused by

 the victim confusing the memory of the rapist with the memory of someone else
 Recovered-memory therapy: memories of sexual abuse created during a therapy
 Memory conformity: the victim confusing his or her memory with that of other witnesses

Prevalence

It is hard to know how often false accusations of rape happen. Emily Bazelon & Rachael Larimore: "How Often Do Women Falsely Cry Rape?," October 1, 2009, Slate, retrieved October 23, 2024

 Goodyear-Smith, Felicity: "Why and how false allegations of abuse occur: An overview," 2016, in R. Burnett (Ed.), Wrongful allegations of sexual and child abuse (pp. 99–117). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198723301.003.0008, posted by American Psychological Assn. (APA) on APA PsychNet, at , retrieved October 23, 2024 Few jurisdictions specifically define false accusations of rape. Accusations for which no evidence could be found were often classified as "unfounded" or "unproven".

Statistics Canada (2018)

As per the Statistics Canada, 19% and 14% of sexual abuse claims were ruled as "unfounded" in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Archives of Sexual Behavior (2016)

Claire E. Ferguson and John M. Malouff did a meta-analysis of confirmed false rape reporting rates. They found the rate of false reports of sexual assault to be 5.2%.

Rumney, US, New Zealand, UK (2006)

+ A selection of findings on the prevalence of false rape allegations. Data from Rumney (2006) Source Number  False reporting rate (%)Rumney considersdubiousDiscussedbelow Kelly et al. (2005) 67 out of 2,643  3% ("possible" and "probable" false allegations) 22% (recorded by police as "no-crime")YesYes Jordan (2004) 68 out of 164 62 out of 164  41% ("false" claims)38% (viewed by police as "possibly true/possibly false")YesYes Lea et al. (2003) 42 out of 379  11%Yes HMCPSI/HMIC (2002) 164 out of 1,379  11.8%Yes Harris and Grace (1999) 53 out of 483 123 out of 483  10.9% ("false/malicious" claims)25% (recorded by police as "no-crime")Yes U.S. Department of Justice (FBI) (1997) n/a  8%YesYes Gregory and Lees (1996) 49 out of 109  45% Kanin (1994) 45 out of 109  41%YesYes Grace et al. (1992) 80 out of 335  24% Smith (1989) 17 out of 447  3.8%Yes Theilade and Thomsen (1986) 1 out of 56 4 out of 39 1.5% (minimum)10% (maximum) Chambers and Millar (1983) 44 out of 196  22.4% Stewart (1981) 16 out of 18  90%Yes Maclean (1979) 16 out of 34  47%Yes McCahill et al. (1979) 218 out of 1,198  18.2% Geis (1978) n/a  3–31% (estimates given by police surgeons) Clark and Lewis (1977) 12 out of 116  10.3% New York Rape Squad (1974) n/a  2% Hursch and Selkin (1974) 10 out of 545  2% Philadelphia police study (1968) 74 out of 370  20%

Racially motivated false accusations of rape

United States

Excuses for lynchings

In 1895, Ida B. Wells published The Red Record to document lynchings between 1892 and 1895. Of the 241 lynchings she documented, suspected rape and murder were the two most common excuses for lynchings. Wells found that many victims of lynching had been falsely accused of rape. 

In other cases, Black American men were lynched in public after they were found to be dating White women. In Louisiana, suspected rape was the second most common excuse for lynchings between 1889 and 1896. In a 1930s survey of a Mississippi town, 60% of respondents believed that lynching was appropriate towards those accused of raping White women, regardless of truth. There are many notable cases of mass murder being caused by false accusations of rape in the Jim Crow era (1877 ‒ 1964).

Tulsa race massacre

In the 1921 Tulsa race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, White supremacists killed between 75 and 300 residents, mostly Black Americans, and injured 800 more. The massacre began over a false accusation that a 19-year-old Black shoeshiner had attempted to rape a 21-year-old White elevator operator.

Rosewood massacre

The 1923 Rosewood massacre began after a White woman in nearby Sumner accused a Black man from Rosewood of attacking her. Rumors of her getting raped spread like wildfire. A White supremacist mob attacked Rosewood, which had a high proportion of Black residents, causing large parts of Rosewood to be burned down. As many as 150 Black residents are estimated to have been killed.

Scottsboro Boys

Consequences

United Kingdom

For someone falsely accusing someone else of rape, he or she can be charged with "perverting the course of justice" or "wasting police time" under section 5(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1967. The law applies to any of the following situations:

 It is suggested that the accusation is false
 The accuser has retracted his or her accusation
 The accuser has withdrawn his or her retraction, also known as double retraction

Examples

In March 2023, Eleanor Williams, a woman from Cumbria, England, was sentenced to 8.5 years in jail for falsely accusing multiple men of rape and trafficking her. Some of her victims spent time in jail, when they were not supposed to, due to her false accusations, causing the judge to give her a heavy sentence.

References

Category:Law
Category:Bias
Category:Legislation
Category:Canada
Category:Racism
Category:Society
Category:Sociology
Category:United States
Category:Discrimination
Category:Social sciences
Category:History of the United States