False Allegations in Rape Cases

Since the #Metoo Movement many women have come forward with their stories of how they have been sexually assaulted by men. This movement has brought upon a positive change among the women as they are no more afraid of reporting these incidents. Many people supported this movement as a new platform was created for women to share their stories and punish their abusers when the police couldn't do anything. Complaints about sexual assault increased significantly with people having a broader perspective of such crimes and making them feel empowered to share their stories.  Though this movement was a big help for women, there were also stories about men who were falsely accused of rape. Many women have used this platform for falsely reporting incidents of rape for their own selfish reasons or because they are manipulated to believe that they have been raped.

Before going into further details, it needs to be first understood as to what comes under false allegations regarding rape. False allegation of rape happens if a person states that he/she has been allegedly raped when no rape actually happened. Rates of false allegations occurs when the terms of rape are misinterpreted. There are many causes of false allegations of rape such as:

1. False Memories: A victim can come to believe that he/she may have been raped by the accused. These include but are not limited to:

a. Victim's confusion between the memory of a real rapist with the memory of someone else.

b. Memories of sexual abuse recovered during therapy without any supporting evidence.

c. Victim's memory may become unreliable when witnesses discuss their version of events.

2. Lies: The victim may have many reasons for lying about being raped such as revenge against the accused or for gaining attention or sympathy from others. 

There is always a grey area regarding false allegations which includes misinterpretation, delusional memories due to alcohol or mixed signals. Sometimes false rape allegations are used to cover up an embarrassing moment such as consent to sexual relations which is often considered as a shameful act. Neither rape accusations nor false allegations of rape be taken lightly as they both have negative consequences on both the victim as well as the accused. 

The media has a big impact on the false allegations of rape. Whenever any case of alleged rape arises, the media already portrays the accused as the criminal without proper evidence and even before the case goes to court. There are protests against the accused demanding that he be punished but when it is finally proved that the accused is actually innocent then the media just ignores it and move on. They do not realize that the life of the accused gets ruined due to ostracization from society and no gives him a suitable job due to negative publicity. Nothing happens to the accuser but it is the accused who has to bear the consequences for a crime he did not even commit.

There are some ways in which the accused can help himself if he is falsely accused of rape. If the accused feels that he has been wrongly accused of rape then he should stay away from the accuser till he can prove his innocence. This can provide him space to state his side of the story. The accused should not try to contact the victim through social media account because anything he says or writes can be used against him before any court of law. Even if there is any conversation between the accused and the accuser then the accused has to make sure that the conversation is happening through text messages or email so that this can be included under the facts of the case. It is very important for the accused to control his emotions and not confront the accuser in an attempt to defend himself. The accuser may use this to his/her advantage and further malign the accused. The accused should try to assess the accuser's motive for such accusation as this would help the accused for presenting his side of the facts.

To conclude, false allegations of rape is a very serious matter and its up to the police and other investigation agencies to investigate the evidences the properly so that no injustice is done towards either of the parties in this case.