In the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, society began to embrace the approach of believing all women who accuse men of improprieties. This ranged from unwanted verbal, sexual attention to rape. However, the fact remains that some women do make false allegations and this undermines the legitimacy of women who make honest claims of improprieties or acts of violence against them.
Because of this, many men and parents have launched campaigns to shed light on this growing problem. What happens if you or a loved one is falsely accused of sexual assault or rape? How do you prove your innocence and what happens if the court discovers the woman lied?
How common are false accusations?
CNN reports that false sexual assault claims range from 2% to 10% of the total numbers. It also states that even these numbers may suffer from inflation based on how law enforcement reports false claims. Cases often become flagged as false reports if the following occur:
- Not enough evidence to prosecute
- Victim’s decision not to cooperate
- Inconsistencies in victims’ statements
- Delayed reporting
What are the end results?
This research implies that women rarely lie about rape and sexual assault. Even so, it also acknowledges that cases do exist and yours or your loved one’s may fall into this category. Because society has moved toward believing women and research shows few false reports, this may cause you to defend yourself in not just court but the public eyes.
If the court determines without a shadow of a doubt that the woman lied, the court may hold her in contempt. Prosecutors may even push for repercussions related to wasting law enforcement’s and the court’s resources. However, no guaranteed procedure currently exists for how courts handle these cases as it rarely becomes possible to prove the lie.