Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

Torrey, Morrison (1991). When will we be believed? Rape myths and the idea
of a fair trial in rape prosecutions, UC Davis Law Review, 24, 1013
this article by morrison torrey contains great data on "false" accusation 
rates - - 

from the data torrey presents, the false accusation rate is 2% or less - - 

note: we should all be asking why morrison torrey's article has never once 
been cited in an appellate decision involving criminal sexual violence - - 
while 
all sorts of "junk" science re perpetrators has easily made its way into our 
judicial appellate policy-making branch of government - - 

I have cited Torrey's work numerous times in amicus and other briefs i've 
filed in appellate courts since 1992.  But no court has ever included it in 
their 
decision.  Yet, nonsense about "false memory" syndrome and "parental 
alienation syndrome" infects appellate decisions in many jurisdictions - - 
even though 
such "syndromes" do not even exist in the DSM.

Last time I checked, Prof. Torrey told me her piece had been cited in one 
civil case someplace.

It is important to have a politically tuned critical eye when thinking about 
this "false" allegation issue b/c the most common explanation for why a 
person 
would falsely accuse another of a crime is money - - and the money motive is 
nowhere to be found in most rape cases.  

As with most DOJ data, the numbers cited in an earlier reply re the false 
allegation rate being somewhat "higher" in forcible rape cases should be 
taken 
lightly - - for reasons articulated in diana russell and rebecca bolen's book 
on 
"rape and child sex abuse in the united states" - - a must read for anyone 
working in this field.

wendy murphy