false rape accusations

This programme or one like it is long overdue; screened late at night on September 10, it can currently be found on BBC iPlayer.

The reality is that rape is always prosecuted where the allegation is considered credible while false rape allegations are prosecuted infrequently, in the UK at least.
Here are a few examples from the same time period to illustrate the point.

Last month’s acquittal of Alex Salmond on multiple charges of sexual assault including two of attempted rape should be seen as a vindication of due process. Alas, it goes without saying that not everybody was happy with the verdicts, including Sandy Brindley, the Chief Executive of Rape Crisis Scotland. It also goes without saying the “victims” were not happy.

Now here’s the rub, Shelly’s big mistake was faking her injuries and reporting the crime at once. What she should have done was wait six months or a year before reporting it. During that time she could have worked on her son, and drip fed lies to her circle of friends – as did false rape accuser Rhiannon Brooker.

The recent sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden was largely ignored by the mainstream media until it could be ignored no longer. It is easy to understand why: his accuser Tara Reade is away with the fairies. That being said, some conservative commentators, including Larry Elder, have pointed to the double standard used for judging such allegations when made against Republicans, including Donald Trump.

Of course, there are women who choose not to report being raped, for whatever reason.  A woman who is genuinely vulnerable may elect not to do so, and such women are often sought out by sexual predators. One such sexual predator was rogue Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw. He prayed on young black women on the fringe of society, but when he targeted an older woman who was driving her own car, she reported him immediately, and his goose was cooked.

The first trial of disgraced former media mogul Harvey Weinstein is now well underway. The number of accusers is certainly impressive, and as people often believe there can be no smoke without fire, that quantity of smoke appears daunting for the defence. That though is an extremely superficial argument which amounts to claiming every allegation must contain at least a grain of truth. Coupled with that is the mantra “believe all women”, so if a woman tells you she is really a thousand years old, a werewolf, or was born on the planet Jupiter, the grain of truth is what?