False accusation of rape: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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{{Discrimination (sidebar)}}
A '''false accusation of rape''' happens when a person states that they or another person have been raped when no [[rape]] has occurred. Although there are widely varying estimates of the prevalence of false accusation of rape, according to a 2013 book on forensic victimology, very few reliable scientific studies have been conducted.<ref name="Forensic277 1">{{Cite book |last=Turvey |first=Brent E. |title=Forensic Victimology: Examining Violent Crime Victims in Investigative and Legal Contexts |publisher=Academic Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0124080843 |page=277 |quote=There are many reasons for false reports. … Despite the many case studies that can be offered, professional literature on the subject remains scarce, as there have been very few scientific studies conducted to date to ascertain false report rates or percentages. The literature that does offer rates and percentages is often unreliable, misrepresented, or inaccurate, as can be seen with the elusive sources for the 2% false report statistic for sexual assault.}}</ref>▼
A '''false accusation of rape''' happens when a person states that they or another person have been raped when no [[rape]] has occurred.
▲Although there are widely varying estimates of the prevalence of false accusation of rape, according to a 2013 book on forensic victimology, very few reliable scientific studies have been conducted.<ref name="Forensic277 1">{{Cite book |last=Turvey |first=Brent E. |title=Forensic Victimology: Examining Violent Crime Victims in Investigative and Legal Contexts |publisher=Academic Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0124080843 |page=277 |quote=There are many reasons for false reports. … Despite the many case studies that can be offered, professional literature on the subject remains scarce, as there have been very few scientific studies conducted to date to ascertain false report rates or percentages. The literature that does offer rates and percentages is often unreliable, misrepresented, or inaccurate, as can be seen with the elusive sources for the 2% false report statistic for sexual assault.}}</ref>
Rates of false accusation are sometimes inflated or misrepresented due to conflation of ''false'' with designations such as ''unfounded''. Designations such as ''unfounded'' allow law enforcement to close cases without arriving at a conclusion and are used to describe cases without enough evidence, as opposed to ''false'' cases where the accuser is not credible or eventually admits that the accusation is untrue.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Forensic Victimology: Examining Violent Crime Victims in Investigative and Legal Contexts|last = Turvey|first = Brent E.|publisher = Academic Press|year = 2013|isbn = 978-0124080843|pages = [https://books.google.com/books?id=iV398oA5DdsC&pg=PA5 5], [https://books.google.com/books?id=iV398oA5DdsC&pg=PA181 181], [https://books.google.com/books?id=iV398oA5DdsC&pg=PA185 185]}}</ref>
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== Causes ==
Causes of false accusations of rape fall into two categories: deliberate deception (lies) and non-deliberate deception (such as [[false memory|false memories]], [[facilitated communication]], and "don't know").<ref>{{cite book|last=Hutcherson|first=Audrey N.|title=Psychology of Victimization|date=2011|publisher=Nova Science Publishers Inc|isbn=978-1614705055|pages=1–79|chapter=Fact or Fiction?: Discriminating True and False Allegations of Victimization|access-date=2 December 2018|chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268215733|archive-date=13 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213000604/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268215733_Fact_or_Fiction_Discriminating_True_and_False_Allegations_of_Victimization|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Deliberate deception ===
An accuser may have several motivations to falsely claim they have been raped. There is disagreement on how many different categories these may be put into. Kanin (1994) listed three: [[revenge]], producing an [[alibi]], and getting sympathy/attention.<ref name="Kanin1994">{{cite journal|url=http://sf-criminaldefense.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/KaninFalseRapeAllegations.pdf|title=False Rape Allegations|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|volume=23|pages=81–92|issue=1|date=February 1994|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303082400/http://sf-criminaldefense.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/KaninFalseRapeAllegations.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead|doi=10.1007/bf01541619 |pmid=8135653| last1 = Kanin | first1 = Eugene J.|s2cid=6880191}}</ref> [[Sandra Newman|Newman]] (2017) listed four: revenge, producing an alibi, personal gain, and [[mental illness]].<ref name="Newman">{{cite news |author=Sandra Newman |author-link=Sandra Newman |date=11 May 2017 |title=What kind of person makes false rape accusations? |work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]] |url=https://qz.com/980766/the-truth-about-false-rape-accusations/ |access-date=2 December 2018 |archive-date=5 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405010921/https://qz.com/980766/the-truth-about-false-rape-accusations/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
According to De Zutter et al. (2017), Kanin's list is "valid but insufficient to explain all the different motives of complainants" and presents eight categories of motives: material gain, alibi, revenge, sympathy, attention, disturbed mental state, relabeling, or regret.<ref name="Zutter2017">{{cite journal |last1=de Zutter |first1=André |last2=van Koppen |first2=Peter J. |last3=Horselenberg |first3=Robert |date=February 2017 |title=Motives for Filing a False Allegation of Rape |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |publisher=International Academy of Sex Research |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=457–464 |doi=10.1007/s10508-017-0951-3 |pmc=5775371 |pmid=28213722}}</ref>
According to Hines and Douglas (2017), 73% of men who've experienced partner-initiated violence reported that their partner threatened to make false accusations. This is compared to 3% for men in the general population.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hines |first1=Denise A. |last2=Douglas |first2=Emily M. |last3=Berger |first3=Joshua L. |date=July 2015 |title=A self-report measure of legal and administrative aggression within intimate relationships: Measurement of Legal and Administrative Aggression |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ab.21540 |journal=Aggressive Behavior |language=en |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=295–309 |doi=10.1002/ab.21540 |pmid=24888571 |access-date=2023-05-23 |archive-date=2023-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523015319/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ab.21540 |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Non-deliberate deception ===
==== False memories ====
There are several ways in which an alleged victim can accidentally come to believe that they have been raped by the person(s) they accuse. These include:<ref name="French">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/nov/24/false-memories-abuse-convict-innocent |title=False memories of sexual abuse lead to terrible miscarriages of justice |author=Chris French |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=25 November 2010 |access-date=2 December 2018 |author-link=Chris French |archive-date=14 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814045446/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/nov/24/false-memories-abuse-convict-innocent |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Recovered-memory therapy]]: memories of sexual abuse "recovered" during therapy in the absence of any supporting evidence, based on the [[Sigmund Freud|Freudian]] notion of "[[Repression (psychology)|repression]]"<ref name="French"/>
* The victim's confusion of the memory of the real rapist with the memory of someone else<ref name="French"/>
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{{See also|List of abuse allegations made through facilitated communication}}
Facilitated communication (FC) is a scientifically discredited technique that attempts to aid communication by people with autism or other communication disabilities who are non-verbal. The facilitator guides the disabled person's arm or hand and attempts to help them type on a keyboard or other device.<ref name="Facilitated Communication Is a Cult That Won't Die">{{cite web |last1=Auerbach |first1=David |date=12 November 2015 |title=Facilitated Communication Is a Cult That Won't Die |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2015/11/facilitated_communication_pseudoscience_harms_people_with_disabilities.html |access-date=30 November 2015 |website=Slate |archive-date=26 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926044147/http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2015/11/facilitated_communication_pseudoscience_harms_people_with_disabilities.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Research indicates that the facilitator is the source of the messages obtained through FC, not the disabled person. However, the facilitator may believe they are not the source of the messages due to the [[ideomotor effect]], which is the same effect that guides a [[Ouija board]].<ref name="Why debunked autism treatment fads persist">{{cite web |last1=Lilienfeld |display-authors=etal |date=26 February 2015 |title=Why debunked autism treatment fads persist |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150226154644.htm |access-date=10 November 2015 |website=Science Daily |publisher=Emory University |archive-date=31 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531003343/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150226154644.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ganz/Katsiyannis/Morin">{{cite journal |last1=Ganz |first1=Jennifer B. |last2=Katsiyannis |first2=Antonis |last3=Morin |first3=Kristi L. |date=February 2017 |title=Facilitated Communication: The Resurgence of a Disproven Treatment for Individuals With Autism |journal=Intervention in School and Clinic |volume=54 |pages=52–56 |doi=10.1177/1053451217692564 |doi-access=free}}</ref> There have been a number of accusations of sexual abuse made through facilitated communication.<ref name="Spake, Amanda (1992)">{{cite news |last1=Spake |first1=Amanda |date=31 May 1992 |title=Skeptics and Believers; The Facilitated Communication Debate |page=W22 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1008445.html |url-status=dead |access-date=March 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402141032/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1008445.html |archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref> As of 1995, there were sixty known cases, with an unknown numbers of others settled without reaching public visibility.<ref name="Margolin, K.N. (1994)">{{cite book |last1=Margolin |first1=K.N. |title=Facilitated Communication: The Clinical and Social Phenomenon |date=1994 |publisher=Singular Publishing |isbn=978-1-565-93341-5 |editor1-last=Shane |editor1-first=Howard C. |location=San Diego, CA |pages=[https://archive.org/details/facilitatedcommu0000unse/page/227 227–257] |chapter=How Shall Facilitated Communication be Judged? Facilitated Communication and the Legal System |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/facilitatedcommu0000unse/page/227}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lilienfeld |first1=SO |date=March 2007 |title=Psychological Treatments That Cause Harm. |journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=53–70 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00029.x |pmid=26151919 |s2cid=26512757}}</ref>
==== "Don't know" ====
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== Estimates of prevalence ==
It is difficult to assess the prevalence of false accusations.<ref name="Spohn">{{cite journal|last1=Spohn|first1=Cassia|last2=White|first2=Clair|last3=Tellis|first3=Katharine|date=2014-03-01|title=Unfounding Sexual Assault: Examining the Decision to Unfound and Identifying False Reports|journal=Law & Society Review|volume=48|issue=1|pages=161–192|doi=10.1111/lasr.12060|issn=1540-5893|doi-access=free}}</ref> Few jurisdictions have a distinct classification of false accusation, resulting in these cases being combined with other types of cases (e.g., where the accuser did not physically resist the suspect or sustain injuries) under headings such as "unfounded" or "unproved". There are many reasons other than falsity that can result in a rape case being closed as unfounded or unproven.<ref name="practical">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iV398oA5DdsC|title=Practical Aspects of Rape Investigation|publisher=CRC Press|year=2008|editor-last=Hazelwood|editor-first=Robert R.|editor2-last=Burgess|editor2-first=Ann Wolbert|isbn=9781420065053|access-date=2016-02-03|archive-date=2024-07-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706165926/https://books.google.com/books?id=iV398oA5DdsC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AAOJ"/>
Another complicating factor is that data regarding false allegations generally do not come from studies designed to estimate the prevalence of false allegations; rather, they come from reviews of data regarding investigations and prosecutions within criminal justice systems. The goal of such investigations is to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to prosecute, not to evaluate the cases for which there is not sufficient evidence to prosecute and classify such cases as "false" or "true".<ref name="Heenan2006" /><ref name="Lovett">{{cite report |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228847968 |title=Different systems, similar outcomes? Tracking attrition in reported rape cases in eleven countries. Country briefing: Scotland |last1=Burman |first1=Michele |last2=Lovett |first2=Jo |date=2009-04-01 |last3=Kelly |first3=Liz |last4= |first4= |access-date=2018-01-16 |archive-date=2021-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213000629/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228847968_Different_systems_similar_outcomes_Tracking_attrition_in_reported_rape_cases_in_eleven_countries |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="researchgate.net">{{cite report|last1=Lovett|first1=Jo|last2=Kelly|first2=Liz|date=2018-01-16|title=Different systems, similar outcomes? Tracking attrition in reported rape cases across Europe|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265234041|isbn=978-0-9544803-9-4|access-date=2018-01-16|archive-date=2021-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213000611/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265234041_Different_systems_similar_outcomes_Tracking_attrition_in_reported_rape_cases_across_Europe|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217471/understanding-progression-serious-cases.pdf|title=2012 Ministry of Justice report "Understanding the progression of serious cases through the Criminal Justice System"|access-date=2017-11-20|archive-date=2014-12-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229091057/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217471/understanding-progression-serious-cases.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite journal|last=Mandy Burton, Rosie McLeod, Vanessa de Guzmán, Roger Evans, Helen Lambert and Gemma Cass|date=2012|title=Understanding the progression of serious cases through the Criminal Justice System: Evidence drawn from a selection of case files|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217471/understanding-progression-serious-cases.pdf|journal=Ministry of Justice Research |series=Series 11/12|pages=V|via=UK Government|access-date=2017-11-20|archive-date=2014-12-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229091057/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217471/understanding-progression-serious-cases.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
DiCanio (1993) states that while researchers and prosecutors do not agree on the exact percentage of cases in which there was sufficient evidence to conclude that allegations were false, they generally agree on a range of 2% to 10%.<ref name="DiCanio">DiCanio, M. (1993). ''The encyclopedia of violence: origins, attitudes, consequences''. New York: Facts on File. {{ISBN|978-0-8160-2332-5}}.</ref> Due to varying definitions of a "false accusation", the true percentage remains unknown.<ref name="Forensic277">{{cite book |last=Turvey |first=Brent E. |title=Forensic Victimology: Examining Violent Crime Victims in Investigative and Legal Contexts |publisher=Academic Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0124080843 |page=277}}</ref>
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=== Statistics Canada (2018) ===
According to [[Statistics Canada]], 19% and 14% of sexual assault allegations were deemed unfounded in 2016 and 2017, respectively.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=July 23, 2018 |title=Unfounded Sexual Assaults in Canada, 2017 |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2018024-eng.htm |website=www150.statcan.gc.ca |access-date=January 17, 2020 |archive-date=February 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219213428/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2018024-eng.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> It also declared, however, that more severe and violent cases of sexual assault were less likely to be declared unfounded than less severe ones.<ref>{{cite web |title=1 in 7 sexual assault cases in 2017 deemed 'unfounded': StatsCan {{!}} CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sexual-assault-unfounded-stats-1.4757705 |access-date=2020-01-18 |archive-date=2020-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101075118/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sexual-assault-unfounded-stats-1.4757705 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cases declared to be unfounded are cases where police determined that the assault did not occur and was not attempted.<ref name=":2" />
According to [[the Globe and Mail]], the statistics about unfounded cases are often kept secret, providing no incentive for police forces to analyze and account for them.<ref>{{cite news |last1=London |first1=Robyn Doolittle |date=3 February 2017 |title=Unfounded: Police dismiss 1 in 5 sexual assault claims as baseless, Globe investigation reveals |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/investigations/unfounded-sexual-assault-canada-main/article33891309/ |access-date=19 January 2020 |archive-date=9 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509201119/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/investigations/unfounded-sexual-assault-canada-main/article33891309/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Archives of Sexual Behavior (2016) ===
Claire E. Ferguson and John M. Malouff conducted a meta-analysis of confirmed false rape reporting rates in the ''[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]]'' in 2016, and found the rate of false reports of sexual assault was 5.2%.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|last1=Ferguson|first1=Claire E.|last2=Malouff|first2=John M.|date=2016-07-01|title=Assessing Police Classifications of Sexual Assault Reports: A Meta-Analysis of False Reporting Rates|url=https://eprints.qut.edu.au/91459/|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|volume=45|issue=5|pages=1185–1193|doi=10.1007/s10508-015-0666-2|issn=0004-0002|pmid=26679304|s2cid=42680693|access-date=2019-12-01|archive-date=2021-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215452/http://eprints.qut.edu.au/91459/|url-status=live}}</ref> The authors say that the "total false reporting rate, including both confirmed and equivocal cases, would be greater than the 5% rate found here".<ref name=":1" />
=== Los Angeles Police Department, USA (2014) ===
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=== Crown Prosecution Service report, UK (2011–2012) ===
A report by the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] (CPS) examined rape allegations in England and Wales over a 17-month period between January 2011 and May 2012. It showed that in 35 cases authorities prosecuted a person for making a false allegation, while they brought 5,651 prosecutions for rape. [[Keir Starmer]], the head of the CPS, said that the "mere fact that someone did not pursue a complaint or retracted it, is not of itself evidence that it was false" and that it is a "misplaced belief" that false accusations of rape are commonplace.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/13/rape-investigations-belief-false-accusations|title=Rape investigations 'undermined by belief that false accusations are rife'|last=Bowcott|first=Owen|date=March 13, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=April 25, 2013|archive-date=February 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220025123/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/13/rape-investigations-belief-false-accusations|url-status=live}}</ref> He added that the report also showed that a significant number of false allegations of rape (and domestic violence) "involved young, often vulnerable people. About half of the cases involved people aged 21 years old and under, and some involved people with mental health difficulties. In some cases, the person alleged to have made the false report had undoubtedly been the victim of some kind of offence, even if not the one that he or she had reported."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/13/false-allegations-rape-domestic-violence-rare|title=False allegations of rape and domestic violence are few and far between|last=Starmer|first=Keir|date=March 13, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212070352/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/13/false-allegations-rape-domestic-violence-rare|archive-date=12 February 2014|url-status=live|access-date=April 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/13/false-rape-allegations-ra_n_2865823.html|title=False Rape Allegations Rare, But 'Damaging Myths' Harm Real Rape Victims, Says CPS' Keir Starmer|date=13 March 2013|newspaper=[[The Huffington Post]]|access-date=15 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524095332/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/13/false-rape-allegations-ra_n_2865823.html|archive-date=24 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/research/perverting_course_of_justice_march_2013.pdf|title=Charging perverting the course of justice and wasting police time in cases involving allegedly false rape and domestic violence allegations|date=March 2013|work=Joint report to the Director of Public Prosecutions by [[Alison Levitt]] QC, Principal Legal Advisor, and the Crown Prosecution Service Equality and Diversity Unit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831095627/http://cps.gov.uk/publications/research/perverting_course_of_justice_march_2013.pdf|archive-date=31 August 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=April 25, 2013|quote=This report is the product of the first ever study, by the Crown Prosecution Service, of the number and nature of cases involving allegedly false allegations of rape or domestic violence, or both. This is in many ways a trailblazing report, the first time we have clear evidence about the prosecution of this important issue. The report outlines the key findings of that review and the steps that we plan to take in response}}</ref>
===Lisak, USA (2010)===
[[David Lisak]]'s study, published in 2010 in ''Violence Against Women'', classified as demonstrably false 8 out of the 136 (5.9%) reported rapes at an American university over a ten-year period (1998 to 2007).<ref name="VAW">{{cite journal |last1=Lisak |first1=David |last2=Gardinier |first2=Lori |last3=Nicksa |first3=Sarah C. |last4=Cote |first4=Ashley M. |year=2010 |title=False Allegations of Sexual {{sic|Assua|lt|nolink=y}}: An Analysis of Ten Years of Reported Cases |url=https://cdn.atixa.org/website-media/atixa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/12193336/Lisak-False-Allegations-16-VAW-1318-2010.pdf |journal=Violence Against Women |volume=16 |issue=12 |pages=1318–1334 |doi=10.1177/1077801210387747 |pmid=21164210 |s2cid=15377916 |access-date=2020-04-21 |archive-date=2020-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113224447/https://cdn.atixa.org/website-media/atixa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/12193336/Lisak-False-Allegations-16-VAW-1318-2010.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> However, a much larger number of reports (44.9%) were classified by the authors as "Case Did Not Proceed", which includes reports that could ultimately be determined to be false allegations, though how many is unknown.<ref name="VAW"/>
Applying [[International Association of Chiefs of Police]] (IACP) guidelines, a case was classified as a false report if there was evidence that a thorough investigation was pursued and that the investigation had yielded evidence that the reported sexual assault had in fact not occurred. A thorough investigation would involve, potentially, multiple interviews of the alleged perpetrator, the victim, and other witnesses, and where applicable, the collection of other forensic evidence (e.g., medical records, security camera records). For example, if key elements of a victim's account of an assault were internally inconsistent and directly contradicted by multiple witnesses and if the victim then altered those key elements of his or her account, investigators might conclude that the report was false. That conclusion would have been based not on a single interview, or on intuitions about the credibility of the victim, but on a "preponderance of evidence gathered over the course of a thorough investigation."<ref name="VAW" />
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=== U.S. Department of Justice (FBI) statistics, USA (1995–1997) ===
In the US, [[FBI]] reports from 1995, 1996, and 1997 consistently put the number of "unfounded" forcible rape accusations around 8%. In contrast, the average rate of unfounded reports for all "[[index crimes]]" (murder, aggravated assault, forcible rape, robbery, arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) tracked by the FBI is 2%.<ref name="fbi.gov">[https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/1996/96sec2.pdf ''Crime in the United States 1996: Uniform Crime Statistics'', "Section II: Crime Index Offenses Reported."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421010228/https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/1996/96sec2.pdf |date=2015-04-21 }} FBI, 1997.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=SECTION II Crime Index Offenses Reported |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1995/95sec2.pdf |access-date=4 July 2024 |archive-date=7 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207130459/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1995/95sec2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=SECTION II Crime Index Offenses Reported |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1997/97sec2.pdf |access-date=4 July 2024 |archive-date=28 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728144609/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1997/97sec2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This estimate, however, does not appear in subsequent FBI reports.<ref>{{cite web |title=SECTION II Crime Index Offenses Reported |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1998/98sec2.pdf |access-date=2017-05-01 |archive-date=2019-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510183105/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1998/98sec2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=SECTION II Crime Index Offenses Reported |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1999/99sec2.pdf |access-date=4 July 2024 |archive-date=2 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102003850/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1999/99sec2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=SECTION II Crime Index Offenses Reported |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2000/00sec2.pdf |access-date=2017-05-01 |archive-date=2021-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502040600/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2000/00sec2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This estimate was criticised by academic Bruce Gross as almost meaningless as many jurisdictions from which FBI collects data use different definition of "unfounded", which, he wrote, includes cases where the victim did not physically fight off the suspect or the suspect did not use a weapon, and cases where the victim had a prior relationship to the suspect.<ref name="AAOJ">Gross, Bruce (Spring 2009). [http://www.biomedsearch.com/article/False-rape-allegations-assault-justice/195323158.html "False Rape Allegations: An Assault On Justice"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619163323/http://www.biomedsearch.com/article/False-rape-allegations-assault-justice/195323158.html |date=2018-06-19 }}. ''The Forensic Examiner''</ref>
===Kanin, USA (1994)===
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==Police handling of rape reports==
Surveys of police and prosecutors find that many in law enforcement consistently over-estimate the prevalence of false accusations, leading to what some researchers have characterized as a culture of skepticism toward accusers in sexual assault cases.<ref name="Lovett"/> In 2018, [[Lesley McMillan]] analysed police perception of likelihood of false reporting of rape. She concluded that although police anticipated 5% to 95% of claims were likely to be false, no more than 3-4% could have been fabricated.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McMillan|first=Lesley|date=2018-01-02|title=Police officers' perceptions of false allegations of rape|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09589236.2016.1194260|journal=Journal of Gender Studies|language=en|volume=27|issue=1|pages=9–21|doi=10.1080/09589236.2016.1194260|s2cid=148033737|issn=0958-9236|access-date=2021-08-27|archive-date=2021-08-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827210920/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09589236.2016.1194260|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Possible effects of media representation ==
There are studies about the extent which the media affects the public perception of false rape accusations. Incorrect assumptions about false rape allegations increases the likelihood that a person who reports rape will be blamed or disbelieved.<ref name="CFCA">{{cite news|url=https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/2017/09/19/resource-challenging-misconceptions-about-sexual-offending-creating-evidence-based|title=Resource - Challenging misconceptions about sexual offending: Creating an evidence-based resource for police and legal practitioners|work=Child Family Community Australia|access-date=2018-01-09|archive-date=2018-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019042517/https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/2017/09/19/resource-challenging-misconceptions-about-sexual-offending-creating-evidence-based|url-status=dead}}</ref> Megan Sacks in ''[[Deviant Behavior (journal)|Deviant Behavior]]'' says that the media perpetuates rape myths when reporting on sexual assaults.<ref name="Sacks">{{cite journal|last1=Sacks|first1=Meghan|last2=Ackerman|first2=Alissa|last3=Shlosberg|first3=Amy|date=2017-12-04|title=Rape Myths in the Media: A Content Analysis of Local Newspaper Reporting in the United States|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321504595|journal=Deviant Behavior|volume=39|issue=9|pages=1237–1246|doi=10.1080/01639625.2017.1410608|s2cid=148640353|access-date=2018-01-09|archive-date=2021-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213000544/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321504595_Rape_Myths_in_the_Media_A_Content_Analysis_of_Local_Newspaper_Reporting_in_the_United_States|url-status=live}}</ref> Rapes that are reported in news media are typically sensational and do not often correspond with the reality of most rapes.<ref name="sciencedirect.com">{{cite journal|date=2017-01-01|title=Filing false vice reports: Distinguishing true from false allegations of rape|journal=The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context|volume=9|issue=1|pages=1–14|doi=10.1016/j.ejpal.2016.02.002|issn=1889-1861 | last1 = De Zutter | first1 = André W.E.A. | last2 = Horselenberg | first2 = Robert | last3 = van Koppen | first3 = Peter J.|doi-access=free}}</ref> For example, the majority of sexual assaults are committed by someone the person knows as opposed to a stranger.<ref name="CFCA" /> Sacks says, the media also normalizes sexual violence in general, often blames the person who reported the assault, and commonly expresses sympathy for the alleged perpetrators instead of the victim.<ref name="Sacks" /> Laura Niemi, a postdoctoral psychology associate at Harvard University, speculated that mythologizing of rape could contribute to the idea that "no normal person" could rape. As a result, the people commonly had a difficult time believing someone they know or like is a rapist, and this could contribute to the idea that the person who reported the rape is at fault.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/10/the-psychology-of-victim-blaming/502661/|title=The Psychology of Victim-Blaming|last=Roberts|first=Kayleigh|work=The Atlantic|access-date=2018-01-09|archive-date=2021-12-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203183639/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/10/the-psychology-of-victim-blaming/502661/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In the ''European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context'', André De Zutter and a team described how false rape allegations often resemble stories of rape portrayed in the media, which are not typical of most true incidents of rape. False stories tend to be quick and straightforward with few details or complex interactions, and usually involve only vaginal intercourse. Some behaviors associated with lying by juries is actually typical of true rapes, including kissing or a previous relationship with the rapist. True rape reports often include many details rarely seen in media or false rape reports, for example pseudo-intimate actions, detailed verbal interactions and an otherwise wide range of behaviors besides simply face-to-face vaginal intercourse.<ref name="sciencedirect.com"/>
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{{expand section|date=December 2022}}
=== United Kingdom ===
Individuals suspected of making a false accusation of rape may be charged with the civil crime of "wasting police time" or the criminal charge of "perverting the course of justice".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/research/perverting_course_of_justice_march_2013.pdf/|title=Perverting the Course of Justice, March 2013|access-date=2017-12-06|archive-date=2017-09-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908094158/http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/research/perverting_course_of_justice_march_2013.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/false-allegations-rape-andor-domestic-abuse-see-guidance-charging-perverting-course|title=False Allegations of Rape and/or Domestic Abuse, see: Guidance for Charging Perverting the Course of Justice and Wasting Police Time in Cases involving Allegedly False Allegations of Rape and/or Domestic Abuse | The Crown Prosecution Service|website=www.cps.gov.uk|access-date=2020-08-18|archive-date=2019-02-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213174443/https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/false-allegations-rape-andor-domestic-abuse-see-guidance-charging-perverting-course|url-status=live}}</ref> Over a five-year period ending in 2014, a total of 109 women were prosecuted for crimes related to making false accusations of rape.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3613506/prosecuting-women-for-false-rape-allegations/|title=The Problem With Prosecuting Women for False Rape Allegations|magazine=Time|access-date=2020-08-18|archive-date=2015-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707002106/https://time.com/3613506/prosecuting-women-for-false-rape-allegations/|url-status=live}}</ref> The report did not indicate the verdicts following prosecution. Another report identified 121 charging decisions involving allegations of false accusations of rape and an additional 11 false allegations of both domestic violence and rape between January 2011 and May 2012 and found of these cases, 35 were prosecuted based upon false accusations of rape. A further 3 were prosecuted based upon charges of false accusations of both rape and domestic abuse. The report did not indicate the verdicts following prosecution.<ref name="auto2"/>
==Historical racism in the United States==
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===Jim Crow===
There are several notable cases of violence after an accusation of rape during the [[Jim Crow]] era (1877-1964).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Crow Era - Timeline - Jim Crow Museum |url=https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/timeline/jimcrow.htm |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=www.ferris.edu |archive-date=2023-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309214744/https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/timeline/jimcrow.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
In the [[Tulsa race massacre]] of 1921, white mobs killed between 75 and 300 people, mostly black, and injured an additional 800 people. The massacre began over a false allegation that a 19-year-old black shoeshiner had attempted to rape a white 1721-year-old elevator operator.<ref>{{citation |author=Oklahoma Commission |contribution=Final Report |title=Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 |place=Tulsa, Oklahoma |date=February 28, 2001 |page=124 |contribution-url=http://www.okhistory.org/research/forms/freport.pdf |contribution-format=PDF |access-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602235628/http://www.okhistory.org/research/forms/freport.pdf |archive-date=June 2, 2018 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hopkins |first=Randy |date=2023-07-06 |title=The Notorious Sarah Page |url=https://www.centerforpublicsecrets.org/post/the-notorious-sarah-page |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=CfPS |language=en}}</ref>
The [[Rosewood massacre]] of 1923 began after a white woman in nearby Sumner claimed that she had been physically assaulted by a black man from Rosewood. Rumors circulated that she was raped and robbed. An angry mob surrounded a house which was filled with black residents and a standoff ensued. The mob killed several people inside the house and two white people were killed outside it. This event attracted additional angry mobs which razed Rosewood to the ground. Black residents fled into the forest, and escaped in cars and on a train. At a minimum, eight black people and two white people were killed, but as many as 150 black residents may have been killed.
Two white women falsely accused the [[Scottsboro Boys]], a group of nine African American boys and young men, of rape on a train in 1931. They had boarded a train across state lines in hopes of finding work but they were stopped by police. One of the accusers was rumored to be "a common street prostitute of the lowest type" who had been overheard asking "negro men" about the size of their "private parts". She was reputed to be a heavy drinker.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Scottsboro Boys Trial:A Primary Source Account |first=Lita |last=Sorenson |year=2004 |page=10 |publisher=Rosen Publishing |isbn=9780823939756 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xEaqZ8aymMC&pg=PA10 |access-date=2020-07-13 |archive-date=2024-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706165927/https://books.google.com/books?id=6xEaqZ8aymMC&pg=PA10 |url-status=live }}</ref> The accusers may have told the police that they were raped to divert police attention from themselves, as not only were they potentially at risk of being charged with prostitution by local authorities, the fact they were crossing state lines placed them at risk of being found guilty of violating the federal [[Mann Act]] (which prohibits interstate transport of "any woman or girl for the purpose of [[prostitution]] or [[Lust|debauchery]], or for any other immoral purpose"). Many white southerners felt the women's race was more important than their status as prostitutes; in the words of one contemporary account "[she] might be a [[fallen woman]], but by God she is a white woman." The mob that gathered to lynch the men was only dispersed by assurances of a speedy trial.<ref>{{cite news|title=White Women, Rape, and the Power of Race in Virginia, 1900-1960|first=Linda Lindquist|last=Dorr|page=1}}</ref>
A song about the case from that era:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fabre |first=Geneviève |date=Fall 2007 |title=Katherine Dunham on the French Stage (No Repeat of La Revue Nègre) |url=https://sfonline.barnard.edu/baker/print_fabre.htm |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=sfonline.barnard.edu |archive-date=2023-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126231124/http://sfonline.barnard.edu/baker/print_fabre.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
''<poem>Messin' white women
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=== Present-day reduction in wrongful rape convictions ===
Due to the use of [[DNA profiling]], wrongful rape convictions in the United States, especially of black men accused of raping white women, has dropped significantly, avoiding hundreds or thousands of wrongful convictions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Samuel R. |date=September 2022 |title=Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States |url=https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Race%20Report%20Preview.pdf |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=The University of Michigan Law School |quote=Exonerations of misidentified rape defendants are much less common than they used to be. There have been only two from rape convictions in the last 12 years. That’s because DNA testing is now routinely used to determine the identity of rapists before trial. This technology has prevented convictions of hundreds or thousands of innocent rape suspects, mostly Black men who were accused of raping white women. |archive-date=2024-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706165925/https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Race%20Report%20Preview.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Notable cases ==