Men Are More Likely To Be Falsely Convicted for Murder Than for Rape
False rape accusations are not common and it’s 15 times more likely that a man is wrongfully convicted for murder than for rape.
There are things we’re all equally afraid of: death, sickness, poverty, or public speaking. But if you listen to some men, you feel they’re even more afraid of one thing: being falsely accused of rape or sexual misconduct.
We live in a world where a man is more likely to be raped himself or wrongfully convicted of murder than he is to be wrongfully convicted of rape. But somehow, men are convinced that the latter is something to be very concerned about.
So much so that their first reaction to a woman who speaks publicly about sexual assault is to doubt every word she says. Even if they don’t know the man personally. Even if more than one woman is accusing the man.
Women are struggling to be taken seriously. All the time. Not just when they try to talk about the sexual violence they experienced.
This is so deeply rooted in our religious and cultural history that there were times when women couldn’t testify in court. Or their testimony didn’t carry the same weight as a man’s because they were considered unreliable. Because they are the “weaker vessel” (1 Peter 3:7).
In “Rereadings of the Rabbis,” Judith Hauptmann emphasizes how this mindset is found in the following Talmud passage:
And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses — so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her
This disregard for a woman’s testimony and disbelief in her ability to remember anything accurately is still common. It makes it harder for women to speak up. And to trust that they will be believed.
It is extremely traumatic to talk about a sexual assault. But then, to be confronted with disbelief is so painful that many women choose not to report an assault in the first place.
According to an article about sexual assault statistics from 2023, 1.5 million women are raped and/or physically assaulted in the US per year. And it is assumed that between 63% — 80% of sexual assaults are not reported at all.
Over 40% of women in the US have encountered sexual violence.
But instead of focussing on the very real danger women face, Americans are just as afraid of false rape accusations as they are of women being sexually assaulted.
A recent poll showed that Americans are almost as concerned about men being falsely accused of sexual assault (82% worried) as they are about women being sexually assaulted (87% worried).
This fear is so rampant that people, including mothers of boys, felt the need to create their own hashtag, #ProtectOurBoys, to denounce “false claims.”
Given the data and the violence women face daily, this fear of imaginary persecution is a slap in the face to any woman who has been the victim of sexual assault or lives in fear of becoming one.
Men will admonish you to hold your judgment whenever a woman makes allegations. Pretending it is an established fact that women frequently and falsely accuse men of sexual misconduct. For fame and fortune. Because there’s nothing better for your image than being seen as a victim of sexual abuse.
We just saw this happening with the Russel Brand report. Immediately, the protectors of men’s honor came crawling out of the woodwork. With Elon Musk, Andrew Tate and Tucker Carlson leading the charge.
Not surprisingly, all three of Brand’s illustrious defenders have previously been accused of sexual misconduct. They themselves benefit greatly from the myth of the many false accusations.
The propagators of the theory of false claims are loud. And they are often influential men with a large platform to help them spread their agenda.
Musk was accused of exposing himself to a flight attendant in 2016 and is rumored to have settled out of court for $250,000 to keep her quiet. Jennifer Eckhart and Cathy Areu accused Tucker Carlons of sexual assault in 2020. But he was bailed out by Fox.
And let’s not even get started on the moral disaster that is Andrew Tate. He and his despicable brother seem to have made a lucrative business out of sexually assaulting women.
All of them insist on being given the benefit of the doubt because, you know, women make all these false allegations against men.
So why are people so ready to believe these ghouls that women are habitual liars about this topic?
The propagators of the theory of false claims are loud. And they are often influential men with a large platform to help them spread their agenda. These men actively seek to damage the credibility of women to get away with sexual misconduct.
Many adamant representatives of the false allegations myth are right-wing, misogynistic men. With a history of similar accusations.
A prime example is the 45th President of the United States. A man who freely admitted to sexually assaulting women in “locker room talk.” Who now professes to feel sorry for young men living in these scary times. Because they’re in danger of being falsely accused of sexual misconduct.
The hypocrisy is baffling.
I bet he preferred the good old days before #MeToo when men could grope and assault women. And they just had to deal with it because no one supported them.
Take Joseph C Roberts, the poster boy of the MAGA anti-#MeToo movement.
Right-Wing Stockholm Syndrome victim Betty DeVoos loved the guy. She supported him so vehemently in his trumped-up claims of being the victim of false accusations that he was able to make a political career out of the issue.
the truth is that false rape accusations are rare
Roberts claimed to have been a victim of the #MeToo movement. He even accused women who didn’t even know him of making false accusations against him. In reality, he was a perpetrator and abuser.
This paragon of male virtue and valiant defender of men’s honor was arrested for the murder and dismemberment of his girlfriend, Imani Bruckner, on September 6th, 2023.
Buckner’s remains were found inside a bag along the shoreline near the Bay Farm Island bridge, authorities announced in a press release. Buckner’s body, which was missing its head, hands and feet, was found wrapped in black trash bags and duct tape
It seems that the more a man tries to convince you that false accusations of sexual assault are a danger to him, the further you should stay away from him.
It is very likely that you’d be in danger in his presence.
Yes, you have a right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. And yes, there are cases where women falsely accuse men of sexual misconduct.
But the truth is that false rape accusations are rare. And the often alluded grave consequences that face are even rarer. The magnitude of the problem has been greatly exaggerated to benefit abusive men’s agenda:
Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, researchers studied 812 reports of sexual assault from 2000–2003 and found a 2.1 percent rate of false reports (Heenan & Murray 2006)
Some studies suggest a rate of about 5% false accusations — that is, of the reported cases.
When you consider that 63% to 80% of sexual assaults are not even reported, the percentage of false accusations looks vanishingly small.
And despite what most of us are made to believe, these false accusations rarely lead to grave consequences for the accused.
The National Registry of Exonerations reports that since 1989, only 52 men have been exonerated due to the false rape allegations
This means being wrongfully convicted for murder is 15 times more likely than for rape.
Look at Trump, who insists he is the continuous target of false allegations. At least 26 women have accused him of sexual harassment or assault since the 1970s. He still became president of the United States.
He was even recently convicted of defaming Jean E. Caroll, who accused him of rape in 2019. But he’s still trying to run for president — again.
Few people know anyone who has been wrongly convicted of murder.
But every man seems to know a story of a friend of a friend named Chuck, Nick, Chad or Peter whose life was ruined by an evil woman. Who falsely accused them of sexual assault.
The data tells a different story. And my gut tells me that Chuck, Nick, Chad and Peter are as real as Santa Claus.
Or if they do exist, like Trump, Musk, Carlson, and Tate, they probably assaulted some poor woman and then lied about it.
If they can’t deny having had intercourse with the woman, they’ll twist the story. They’ll say that the woman consented to have sex and later changed her mind — out of regret. And then decided to accuse them of rape.
Tell me, what did they regret so deeply they decided to “ruin” your life for?
Maybe these men have a hard time understanding consent?
What constitutes consent? Having dinner with a man and letting him pay for it? Coming back to a man’s apartment? Having a drink with him there? Allowing him to kiss you?
Men will quickly interpret any of the above actions as consent if it fits their agenda.
But they’re happy to ignore a verbal “no” that follows this imagined “consent.” Interpreting it as playing hard to get or believing “she didn’t mean it.” Because why did she come to my place if she wasn’t ready to put out?
This mindset and misunderstanding of consent make it likely that the woman will regret having unknowingly given “consent” and accuse the man of assaulting her.
Again, people will disbelieve the victim because, after all, “she must have wanted it if she put herself in that situation.”
Men insist that those accused of sexual assault should be considered innocent until proven guilty. Given the benefit of the doubt. And so it should be — and is. Because the “benefit of the doubt” only applies in court.
It doesn’t apply to public opinion. And it doesn’t mean that I have to give the same credence to the denial of the perpetrator as to the testimony of several victims.
The women who accuse these perpetrators are also subjected to toxic public opinion. They’re not given the benefit of the doubt. Like Jean E. Carroll, they’re shamed, defamed and called liars. Or worse:
Carroll told the court Thursday that she logged on to Twitter in the morning and found a slew of comments calling her a “liar,” a “slut,” “ugly,” and “old.”
Given that false accusations of sexual assault are extremely rare. We should no longer be willing to doubt victims in the name of this imagined fairness.
Let’s focus on the woman. Not on the perpetrators.
Because you have to understand that the likelihood of her telling the truth is very, very high. That she has been victimized and needs our support.
Much higher than the probability that she is making false accusations.