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Rape accusers should be publicly named

NoahSwayne

December 30, 2008

37 upvotes

/r/MensRights

http://falserapesociety.blogspot.com/2008/12/rape-accusers-should-be-publicly-named.html

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Post Information

Title	Rape accusers should be publicly named
Author	NoahSwayne
Upvotes	37
Comments	26
Date	December 30, 2008 3:52 AM UTC (17 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/7mcid/rape_accusers_should_be_publicly_named/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/rape-accusers-should-be-publicly-named.1055640 https://theredarchive.com/post/1055640

Comments

[–][deleted] 27 points28 points29 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]peachykaren 14 points15 points16 points 17 years ago (4 children) | Copy Link

[–]NoahSwayne[S] 4 points5 points6 points 17 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points7 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[+][deleted] -8 points-7 points-6 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]svonnah 0 points1 point2 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[+][deleted] 17 years ago (10 children) | Copy Link

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[–]WebZen 10 points11 points12 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 17 years ago (7 children) | Copy Link

I think that those people who accuse falsely should not be named and shamed publically. What is the point to it other than fulfilling one person's vengeful desire?

To clear up, no, being accused is not anywhere near as damaging as actually being raped. As someone who has been both accused, and raped, I can tell you that without any second thought.

Now, as for the accuser, the false accusation should be dealt with in due process, as it is. You can sue for defamation, leave it there, you've won your victory. And no self-respecting person will think of you as a rapist if you're proven not to be one.

Considering the disproportionate rape vs rape charges situation in nearly every country in the world - that sort of action would only strengthen the fear of women who have been raped to come out and say it.

As it stands now, rape victims are put on trial for making the accusation, to then tell them they could be named and shamed if the court doesn't agree with them (and most often the courts do rule against the women - on the basis of its her word or his) the number of women reporting rape will decline dramatically - and that is most definitely not a good thing.

[–]NoahSwayne[S] 0 points1 point2 points 17 years ago (3 children) | Copy Link

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 17 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

I wasn't meaning to belittle the fight against false accusation - I do understand very well the damage it can do.

But I can say rather confidently that to have it set in stone that all women who are deemed to falsely accuse (and in legal terms - that would mean any woman who files a rape allegation which is then not carried through in the court room) would be shamed in public - that means that the women who do get raped and would have reported it will be much more apprehensive about reporting their rapes - especially given the already one sided nature of the legal system.

Not to mention those that already do not report their rapes would be given another fear reason for not doing so.

On the other side, men who falsely accuse (though few and far between - and most often is never filed) would have to be named and shamed as well - lest it become sexism.

And considering the amount of men who do not report their rapes already aswell (And most men who are raped never report it - be it rape by another woman or a man) would be given another reason not to report it - if they couldn't emperically prove the rape.

I don't believe that naming and shaming falsely accusing people should take presidence over the aftermath. That should always come first, no matter how strongly you feel about it.

We can deal with the false accusations as they come along - what we should be doing is encouraging people to report their rapes, you know? Not giving them discouragement in the face of not being able to prove it (because in many rape cases it comes down circumstantual evidence and her/his word against the other).

[–]NoahSwayne[S] -1 points0 points1 point 17 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

This is incorrect, on a multitude of levels.

First, most rape claims are determined to be "unfounded" -- which means there is insufficient evidence to proceed. Even thought the vast majority of these are likely "false," only the ones that are affirmatively proven to be "false" are deemed to be false reports -- and those are a tiny fraction of the "unfounded" claims. Police and DAs have very little interest in going after false claims, and they rarely do. This is a travesty and only encourages liars to falsely accuse with impunity.

Second, your assertion that the legal system is one-sided against rape accusers and in favor of rape defendants is simply wrong for a number of reasons -- a myth propounded by the sexual assault advocacy cottage industry, hardly an unbiased group. The reality is exactly the opposite. Rape accusers are afforded special treatment allowed NO other criminal accusers. This special treatment includes but is not limited to, anonymity in the news media; sexual assault advocates to help the accused at every step of the process, largely paid for by tax and tuition dollars of members of the gender from which the accused "rapists" come; rape shield laws that prohibit the admission of evidence regarding the accuser's prior sexual history with persons other than the defendant (no similar rule exists for accusers of ANY other crime); rape accusers' exemptions from polygraph testing in many locales -- the men accused are not exempted, only their accusers; and, incredibly, evidentiary rules that allow a defendant's prior sexual acts -- even certain acts of which the accused was previously acquitted -- to be admissible to help "prove" he's a rapist (see Federal Rule of Evidence 413 and its progeny adopted in various states).

Many radical feminists say even these things aren't enough and want the presumption of innocence itself to be reversed -- if they have their way, one of the most fundamental of all human acts, intercourse, would be a presumed crime anytime a woman cries rape, and the man accused would have the burden to prove that the woman consented. Where does it end? I suppose they will be happy only when any rape accuser is allowed to personally try, convict and castrate the man or boy she accuses. And that is scarcely hyperbole.

You can see why, given the above, men -- ane women who care about men -- need to combat blithe assertions such as the one you've tossed off -- that the system is biased in favor of defendants in rape cases. It is exactly the opposite. The entire area has become embroiled in the toxic brew of radical feminism, and the rights of the innocent have been removed from the public discourse about rape. That reality is not merely unjust but morally grotesque.

Seriously, spend some time reading my Web site to learn about these issues: http://falserapesociety.blogspot.com/

[+][deleted] 17 years ago* (2 children) | Copy Link

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[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 17 years ago* (1 child) | Copy Link

You're missing the point. For this to be the status quo means it would - through the legal system - become systematic - and would effectively create a rather large fear campaign as false accusation would be based on whether the person was found guilty or not - that can be guaranteed given the one sided treatment of those who do file rape charges (both men and women).

Now I'm sorry if you feel hurt and want justice, but with the judicial system the way it is now, with people already en masse afraid to report their rapes for fear of prosecution by the defense lawyers and judicial system as it is, you'd only be creating a worse environment.

And frankly? Getting these rape victims to report the crimes and press charges is far more important than persecuting the few who have falsely accused.

This is a systematic problem. If we want to solve it - we need to attack it at its source - and it starts with the way in which rape is handled in the judicial system.

[–]windynights -5 points-4 points-3 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]svonnah 12 points13 points14 points 17 years ago (5 children) | Copy Link

[–]sabliss 28 points29 points30 points 17 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[–]sapiophile 0 points1 point2 points 17 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

They are both serious, certainly.

But equal? I'm not so sure.

A falsely accused alleged rapist may lose their job, their family, their friends, their home, their reputation and more, but, as my grandmother would say, "at least they've got their health." And, in having that, a fresh start is always possible, albeit with some sacrifices.

A survivor of sexual assault, on the other hand, is often traumatized permanently in profound, broadly affective ways. Panic disorders, depression, agoraphobia and much, much more... and think for a minute about what those really MEAN in someone's life instead of just as scientific labels. The trauma of rape can put an end not just to what's happening in a survivor's life NOW, but also what they might hope to accomplish for the entire rest of their lives, because they may not "at least have their health" - mental or otherwise.

Even attempting to make these kinds of quantitative judgments about the violence of rape versus the violence of libel nags at my instincts as part of the problem... but in a society addicted to quantities, they're at least a step in the right direction.

[–]sabliss 0 points1 point2 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

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[–]sapiophile 2 points3 points4 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]dakboy 0 points1 point2 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[+][deleted] 17 years ago (3 children) | Copy Link

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[–]NoahSwayne[S] 5 points6 points7 points 17 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[–]catdad 0 points1 point2 points 17 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]NoahSwayne[S] 0 points1 point2 points 17 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link