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

["Ben Atherton-Zeman - Feminist, Actor and Husband" <>]

This can't possibly be true, right?  Does anyone know studies that refute 
these claims?  

Until the violence stops, Ben.  

Ben Atherton-Zeman, Maynard, MA USA
Actor, Comedian, Feminist and Husband
Presenting a One-Man Play: "Voices of Men," http://www.voicesofmen.org
Booking information: 978-897-3619

Quote of the Month: January 2009:
"We should ask men why is it that when a woman comes up to us and says "don't 
beat me and don't rape me", we say, 'oh, you must not like men.'"
- Chuck Derry, Gender Violence Institute, 
.
  
Come to the Men Can Stop Rape conference in Washington, DC April 14-15: 
http://mencanstoprape.org/conference/
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Marc Angelucci 
  To: 

 
  Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 2:36 PM
  Subject: New Study in India Shows 18% of Rape Claims are False


  
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/18_rape_cases_false_Study/articleshow/3910217.cms
   
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              18% rape cases false: Study
              29 Dec 2008, 2306 hrs IST, TNN 


             
              NEW DELHI: A little less than 20% of sexual-assault cases 
reported in and around Delhi are false, shows a five-year study. In almost 
every fifth incident, or, in 18.3 % cases to be precise, rape is used as a 
weapon to malign and attempt revenge, found a group of psychologists who 
assist Delhi Police in investigating sexual assault allegations. 

              The conclusion was drawn from 113 cases in the last five years. 
Anger towards the accused prompted allegations of rape in 25% of the false 
charges. An equal number of such cases were filed at the behest of family 
members. Every fifth false allegation was made by a minor `coached' to cry 
`rape' as an attempt to settle family scores. About 15% were situations of 
panic after clear consent, while the remaining 15% defied categorisation. 

              In September 2007, the Supreme Court had alerted lower courts 
to attempts at misusing the rape law, noting "the courts should bear in mind 
that false charges of rape are not uncommon.'' 

              Rajat Mitra of Swanchetan, the NGO that conducted the study, 
says the false cases can be complicated at times. He talks of a 16-year-old 
girl from West Delhi's Dabri area who accused her father and another man of 
rape. The girl claimed insanity post-assault, saying she would see faces of 
men all around her attacking her. The girl broke down on being asked by 
counsellors whether the images were in black and white or in colour. She 
confessed her brother had asked her to accuse their father. With her father 
in jail, believed the girl, her brother would get the property and she would 
get to marry the person of her choice. In the end, withdrew the case. 

              Another case was of a medically proven rape of a 13-year-old in 
Dwarka. The girl had accused three men but the police found their 
investigations did not show these men's involvement. After a quiet talking-to 
by psychologists, the girl finally got the courage to speak the truth. She 
said the three men who had raped her were family members who had threatened 
her. To protect them, and out of fear, she had accused three others. In this 
case, the chargesheet was filed against the real culprits. 

              In the face of such cases, the five-year study assumes 
significance. Sexual assault is tricky to investigate and wrong convictions 
can harm the falsely accused and discredit the ordeal of real rape victims. 
Zero tolerance to sexual crime has a flip side to it as a person's testimony 
can be taken at face-value in the absence of evidence or corroboration. 

              It is important for investigators of sexual assault to be alert 
to the grey areas of such crime, says Mitra, a clinical psychologist. "While 
34% of all cases showed acute PSTD in the immediate aftermath of the attack, 
almost 30% displayed no obvious signs of trauma," he said. The no-sign cases 
can mislead because the average policeman identifies trauma with incessant 
cathartic bawling, and a silent person may be viewed as not being 
traumatized, he says, while the person may likely be numbed. 

              Collection of evidence is often difficult, as cases are 
frequently reported too late for physical examinations to yield conclusive 
results. This is when counselling can help, as psychologists are skilled at 
reassuring victims and can get them to open up and recount incidents. 

              In cases of false allegations, it's the structure of the 
stories that most often give the game away. "The pre and post-sequence, the 
language used and the structure of events is obvious when it is coached,'' 
says the clinical psychologist. Instead of recalling, a person making a false 
accusation reconstructs the incident, building in the details as it would gel 
with her interrogators.