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The original was posted on /r/twoxchromosomes by /u/duchessofmardi on 2023-09-20 20:05:51.

I just don’t understand why this is so hard to grasp. We don’t doubt the victims of other crimes this way and studies have shown the level of false reporting is no higher than for other crimes, something around 1-2% at most if I remember rightly.

We know that the majority of victims of SA don’t report it (studies suggest something like 2/3). We know that in the UK over 98% of those complaints which are reported don’t even get to trial. And when they do, the conviction rate is 75%, lower than for other crimes.

The chances of a false accusation leading to conviction are vanishingly low because the chances of any sex offending going to court are so low, despite the fact we know this type of offending tends to be serial. Worbuoys for example had multiple complaints about him that were not prosecuted until he had attacked more than 70 women.

Even considering the potential that 2% of reports are false, the chances of a woman who has been attacked getting justice in the UK even if she makes a complaint are currently less than 1.5%.

This is why once a man is accused of SA I am not generally prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt unless he literally has an iron clad alibi. If sex offenders were properly caught and dealt with, everyone would benefit - including the small handful of men subject to false accusation.

As women, we don’t have the luxury of assuming “innocent until proven guilty” where our safety is at stake.