UK Petition: Make reporting false allegations of sexual offences a specific criminal offence

The_Bearded_Cyclist · 2022-12-22T09:15:35+00:00

Fyi only UK residents can sign.

I do support this though. I believe they should also be registered as sex offenders.

Oncefa2 · 2022-12-22T13:51:17+00:00

Most false accusers never go to the police.

This kind of legislation is definitely a step in the right direction.

But I think we need to focus on the social aspect of a false allegation by buffering laws around slander and character defamation.

The legal system already gives people a (relatively) fair opportunity to defend themselves. The real damage happens outside of the legal system though. For example, many men find themselves unemployable even after being found innocent by a jury of their peers.

Just look at what Johnny Depp had to go through, and is still going through. Even after a civil case siding in his favor. And he has money and fame to fall back on. Which is a lot more than most victims of false allegations have.

bsanchey · 2022-12-22T21:26:01+00:00

This type of stuff needs to go global. False accusations hurt the falsely accused and those who are actual victims.

UnconventionalXY · 2022-12-23T00:23:35+00:00

Making a false accusation about any criminal activity should be treated as a contempt of court and perjury and punished: sexual offences do not require special treatment.

The problem at the moment is that punishment is left up to the judges discretion which can introduce bias, so there should be defined mandatory punishments to dissuade that practice.

Also, I think it is time that accusers be treated the same as the accused in being required to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, under penalty: accusers need to be just as much scrutinised as the accused because we should be seeking justice for both accuser and accused.

PeteyMax · 2022-12-22T23:25:45+00:00

Not a big fan of this. They just need to enforce the laws already on the books.

feverfor20 · 2022-12-26T10:45:32+00:00

This is the classic slippery slope. So you throw the book at false accusations. OK. But what about the close to 30%(depends on where you get your stats) of all accusations where there is not enough evidence to prosecute? These women more than likely have been raped, there just isn't enough hard evidence to convict. You are opening the book to rapists who didn't leave enough evidence now getting their victims also thrown in jail. I'm all for throwing the book at vindictive partners who try to use the legal system to punish former lovers. I just don't think there is any way to write this law without sending rape victims to jail as well.

WhereProgressIsMade · 2022-12-22T20:20:46+00:00

By “report” does it mean organizations forwarding on accusations?

Here, the news (or anyone else theoretically) can’t release the name, photo, or other identifying information of a minor accused of a crime or arrested. Mirroring that for adults accused of sexual crimes might help. Keeping it off police records unless convicted should prevent it coming up on employer background checks.

I don’t think you want to go after the person making a false accusation because it would disincentive them fessing up which is how many guys get cleared.

In my opinion if the only evidence is he says / she says, the defense should be able to file for dismissal and get it granted easily for lack of evidence. Sucks, but one of the founding principles in the US (and UK i believe) is that it’s better to let guilty go unpunished than to punish the innocent.

OrganizationThen8345 · 2022-12-22T12:07:22+00:00

On the surface this makes sense but there are flaws.

Not all legitimate allegations end up as successful convictions. If making false allegations were to be criminalised, women (or men) who were genuinely raped might end up with a criminal record for reporting the crime if their case proved unsuccessful. Whether that be down to insufficient evidence or whatever.

Obviously, if someone has actually been raped then she should be able to report it without being worried about going to prison.

The issue is that there are too many women (or men) out there who would happily take advantage of this. Knowingly falsely accusing someone of rape is as bad, if not, worse than rape itself. You're willingly destroying someone's life, ruining every friendship/relationship that person has ever made and making it so that they'll never be able to get a decent job again.

I think the middle ground would be to provide defendants with anonymity until conviction and in the cases where it has been proven that accuser has made the allegation up, as opposed to there just not being sufficient evidence (however that might be proved), give them a mandatory 5 year sentence and plaster their name everywhere.

PrimeWolf88 · 2022-12-22T20:29:55+00:00

I signed it but it says I've already signed it. Doesn't appear to have made much progress to be honest. I haven't signed a petition for a few weeks, and this one is stuck around 3000 signatures.

TheFlagen430297 · 2022-12-24T07:16:41+00:00

100% Bro

crippledhermit · 2022-12-24T23:28:59+00:00

Make it at least a felony.

Great-Gap1030 · 2022-12-26T12:30:45+00:00

This is a very good start and it gives justice for the innocent men.

However... the non-legal consequences can be more damaging, and it's past time as a society for us to deal with that. Maybe legally as well.

Tl;dr good start, but should go further.

ThatGIRLkimT · 2022-12-28T22:04:05+00:00

It should be globally

420thWarCrime · 2022-12-28T23:20:36+00:00

I’m on good terms with my local MP, I’ll see if I can get him to raise this in Parliament or smth idk

AgeOfReasonEnds31120 · 2022-12-29T15:49:38+00:00

If I were Bri'ish, I would sign it.

Anih1list · 2022-12-30T02:49:41+00:00

False allegation and defamation is already illegal. What is the argument for special considerations of false sexual allegations? I mean, other than locking up transphobes who call queer people groomers?

dilerse · 2022-12-30T08:21:59+00:00

YES that is literally framing someone

Title	UK Petition: Make reporting false allegations of sexual offences a specific criminal offence
Author	ggleblanc2
Upvotes	286
Comments	36
Date	December 22, 2022 8:32 AM UTC (3 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/zsgxd4/uk_petition_make_reporting_false_allegations_of/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/uk-petition-make-reporting-false-allegations-of.1144817 https://theredarchive.com/post/1144817

Comments