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Should False Accusation Of Rape Carry a Sentence?

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Well, it is a deliberate way of totally ruining someone's life
yes
As severe as a rapist would have got if a rape had taken place
Original post by xJARSx
Well, it is a deliberate way of totally ruining someone's life


True, i find that quite a few cases (The one of the Durham student comes to mind) is a fine example of how this potentially destroys a future just because a girl regretted her actions the following morning and stemmed by jealousy.

I also think that unless a sentence is added to false accusations then rape reports will increase and police will start to get bored because of the low acquittal rates and genuine victims will find the process much more difficult.
Original post by ODES_PDES
As severe as a rapist would have got if a rape had taken place


I thought that - Was going to put my argument on there but thought i would be bombarded by feminists and left it at the short and simple Discuss :u:
No.

I agree it's disgusting to falsely accuse someone of rape but I think punishing them would open up the possibility of actual victims being too scared to report rape for fear of being sentenced for a false allegation.

I feel that actual victims should not be inhibited in any way from going to the police.
Reply 7
BUT what if it was an historic case of rape that actually happened however due to a lack of evidence, it got turned down as a case in court and then potentially called a false rape accusation as there was not enoguh evidence to support the claim (regardless of it actually happening)
It already carries a sentence, so what is it you wish to discuss?
Original post by p3ssimist
No.

I agree it's disgusting to falsely accuse someone of rape but I think punishing them would open up the possibility of actual victims being too scared to report rape for fear of being sentenced for a false allegation.

I feel that actual victims should not be inhibited in any way from going to the police.


But not having this as punishment is allowing girls to ruin lives of boys simply through jealousy and regret.

Also i think your point relates to the minority - I struggle to see why an "actual victim" would be scared of being accused of lying?
Original post by TSRFT8
But not having this as punishment is allowing girls to ruin lives of boys simply through jealousy and regret.Also i think your point relates to the minority - I struggle to see why an "actual victim" would be scared of being accused of lying?


I understand girls can ruin a boy's reputation. I think there should be some other way to combat that?

The reason why actual victims might be scared of being accused of lying is because rape is hard to prove. Too many rapists get acquitted of rape because of lack of evidence.

What happens when a genuine victim does not have enough evidence and so the rapist goes free? Is the rapist allowed to turn the case around now and say that as he was acquitted that must mean the girl was lying? Will the victim be sentenced?

If that's the situation then victims will not go to court unless they have very strong evidence from the beginning. That's not always easy and usually as trial progresses, more evidence is discovered but victims may not want to risk waiting to evidence to turn up. They may not go to the police at all.


who would even want to try and rape that...
Original post by shawtyb
who would even want to try and rape that...


:five:
Original post by the bear
:five:


there was one, possibly her, who accused two soldiers of raping her
Reply 15
It's a tough call, but I certainly do think there should be some form of punishment because a false accusation could be treated as an action of harmful or malicious intent, therefore punishable by law. Perhaps such a punishment should only be carried out if a unanimous decision is reached about the suspect's innocence, and if there is any misconception or split vote, then neither party should receive punishment. Despite this meaning some rapists may walk free, I think that with the increasing frequency of false accusations, this is the fairest way it can be done since rape is so difficult to prove.
Original post by shawtyb
there was one, possibly her, who accused two soldiers of raping her


109 cases in 5 years.... surely the tip of the iceberg :yep:

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/dec/01/109-women-prosecuted-false-rape-allegations
Original post by the bear


jesus thats terrible!
it makes it hard for those of us who have actually been through it
theres so much stigma on rape claims, thats why no one wants to come forward and notify the police of it as there afraid they will get shunned and accused of false rape claims
This can already happen and rightly dso. You can ruin the accused's life and you also undermine genuine victims. As far as putting women off reporting - you would still have to actually prove the woman lied so it shouldn't be an issue, you wouldn't get women accused of lying just because a case didn't result in a successful prosecution as there would still be no evidence they lied.
Original post by shawtyb
BUT what if it was an historic case of rape that actually happened however due to a lack of evidence, it got turned down as a case in court and then potentially called a false rape accusation as there was not enoguh evidence to support the claim (regardless of it actually happening)


Yea but false acc is normally when there literally is no evidence, because she lied or exaggerated, not a lack of finding the evidence.

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