Anonymity of Alleged Rapists = Few rape victims coming forward?

[Sarah Valentine]

I know someone who was falsely accused, as far as I know no official charges were brought up because everyone just wanted to forget everything and make like it never happened. It tore his family in half everyone was in complete shock over the accusation and people took sides saying things that could never be unsaid, now 11 years later people from the accusers side are looking back at it and really thinking that he's innocent and the accuser is a goddamn dirty liar. A lot of shit doesn't add up or make sense seeing as the main two people involved are who they are but there's no way to prove it, since knowing exactly who the accuser is and what she's like that she will NEVER tell the truth and admit that she lied to everyone. Her "perfect" reputation will go down the toilet, she'll go to jail, lose custody of her kid and never be allowed to see her again, and she'll be completely disowned by the entire family. If you ask me false accusations should be taken very seriously.

[Canarr]

The difference is that even if he's guilty, he might not be convicted and therefore the other accusers would never come forward. Whereas if they *do* come forward, either one or more of their cases might be easier to prove or the extra information might be helpful in some way.

In my view, that doesn't balance out the damage done to innocent men - yes, mostly men - falsely accused. Personally, I would rather see a rapist go unpunished than an innocent man be condemned.

[draco664]

The difference is that even if he's guilty, he might not be convicted and therefore the other accusers would never come forward. Whereas if they *do* come forward, either one or more of their cases might be easier to prove or the extra information might be helpful in some way.

That's a lot of if's and might's and maybe's, especially since technically you can only bring in evidence in a trial that is directly relevant to the charge. It might make investigating the crimes easier, but trying them? Not so much.

[siead_lietrathua]

What if she had the wrong guy though? What if he had been completely innocent, and publishing his name ruined his reputation?

they also publish names of people suspected of murder, robbery, assault etc, and i would bet many of them end up innocent as well. yet i rarely see arguments involving saving the reputations and etc of people that may be falsly accused of those crimes.

don't get me wrong, false accusations suck and should be put stop to. but sometimes witnesses only come forward for ANY crime once they know that the person responsible is in custody.

[Canarr]

they also publish names of people suspected of murder, robbery, assault etc, and i would bet many of them end up innocent as well. yet i rarely see arguments involving saving the reputations and etc of people that may be falsly accused of those crimes.

There is one disctinctive difference between these crimes and rape: with murder, robbery, assault, there is almost always some form of concrete evidence of the crime occurring - say, a dead body, or injuries on a living victiom. Rape, however, is seldom that clear-cut; since proof is often difficult to obtain, it can easily lead to a situation of "he-said-she-said" - which makes if more difficult both for the victim of a rape and for the victim of a false accusation to find justice.

Not to mention the social stigma that a rape accusation carries with it, true or not; none of the other crimes you mention comes even close to that, not even murder. A man accused of assaulting or even murdering another man will, once acquitted, find those charges far easier to live with than the odor of "having gotten away" with rape.

[draco664]

In my view, that doesn't balance out the damage done to innocent men - yes, mostly men - falsely accused.

The damage done to falsely accused rapists is incredible. Consider this article. The story is about Theo Theophanus, a politician who was accused of raping a woman in his office.

After bankrupting him, forcing his resignation from politics and essentially ruining his life, the magistrate threw the case out, basically calling the woman (in far more judicial language) a fucking liar. (Given she couldn't get the date of the rape right - the first attempt was when Theo was out of the country - and changed her story 17 times, it was pretty mild)

Still, the perception was that he "got away with it"

Then, he did something that very rarely gets done. He sued the woman for defamation.

And he won.

Still, there are people who think he got away with it.

[IDrinkaRum]

Then we have women like thos one who is a compulsive liar and has lied about being raped 11 times in almost a decade

The newest allegation was leveled against a man she "didn't like". Fortunately, the police did a good investigation, and realized she was lying. Also, when confronted, she immediately confessed to lying. That's something, but still.

[Canarr]

Note that her latest victim "cannot be named for legal reasons".

[Skelly]

Then we have women like thos one who is a compulsive liar and has lied about being raped 11 times in almost a decade

The newest allegation was leveled against a man she "didn't like". Fortunately, the police did a good investigation, and realized she was lying. Also, when confronted, she immediately confessed to lying. That's something, but still.

Personally, I think she should be locked up for the same amount of time her victim would've gotten if convicted based on her lies.

[Sarah Valentine]

Personally, I think she should be locked up for the same amount of time her victim would've gotten if convicted based on her lies.

I agree. She tried to ruin the lives of those men, why shouldn't her life be at least very damaged?