Why Aren't Men Fighting Back? - The Sexual Assault of Men and Boys

[Stranger]

The crudest and perhaps most visceral response has been from those men who have expressed a terror at being “falsely accused of rape” – a fear that is completely unfounded judging by global statistics.


Well, for these men we offer this advice.

If that is all you have to worry about then count yourself lucky. If you wake up irritated or anxious that you might be falsely accused of rape – because, really, the system for women is so user-friendly – then suck it up. If you are not (a rapist or abuser) then you have nothing to worry about. Besides, the courts are well favoured towards men.
Source

Rape destroys lives. False allegations of rape destroy lives. I gathered a few personal stories from Reddit of people falsely accused of rape and included them below to illustrate that "If you are not (a rapist or abuser) then you have nothing to worry about" is factually false and dismissive of one group's legitimate concerns in favor of another group's legitimate concerns.

The only spiritual way forward is one where all pain, violence and injustice is treated as valid, important to attend to, worthy of healing.

The culture of frequent and almost casual victimization of women is truly deplorable, and I am so happy it has gained worldwide attention. But it often appears as if people/groups (like the author above) are playing a game of musical chairs where there is only one "victim slot", and if you're the victim then no one else is allowed to be one. This isn't helpful.

Throwaway for obvious reasons.
My last girlfriend accused me of rape. She actually had me convinced of it myself. It really messed with my head. She would guilt trip and threaten me with a public accusation, whenever I would refuse to do something she wanted (which included sex). After a year of that she admitted that it was all fabricated. Whenever I tried to break up with her she would try to guilt trip me again, which confused and scared me. When we finally did break up she told me that she was going to report me to the authorities. I haven't heard from her since. But I have been single, having anxiety attacks, and going to therapy since. Almost going on 4 years now

A little, I watched what one of my residents in undergrad go through that s***. He got kicked out of ROTC based on a kangaroo court system ad almost got expelled. When someone actually did the due diligence it turned out her story was absolutely bullshit and she had a history of making false accusations. It completely derailed his career and even after he was cleared his social life was demolished.

I am a woman, but wanted to pipe up. This happened to my husband when he was a teenager. Luckily he had a lot of people with him at the time, including adults. His alibi was very obvious.
Funny thing is I remember hearing those rumors from that girl at a party before I met my husband. Everyone was telling me "I know him. That is absolutely bullshit." At the time I thought it was terrible either way, wondering how I would feel if I had been raped and then told I was lying.
In hindsight, people would believe me because I'm a painfully sensible person. This girl was emotionally unstable, it was a boy who cried wolf situation. What happens when a woman like that is taken advantage of?
I also knew another girl who had sex with a guy. Accused him of rape and stuck to it for years, but later admitted it was just a bad hookup that she had sorely regretted. She was young, extremely misguided, and made a lot of very poor choices. Shitty, bad situation. She was a nice looking, quiet kid. She spread rumors, but refused to let anyone tell adults or contact the police. Unfortunately genuine rape victims will do the same thing.

LOS ANGELES – The Long Beach Unified School District won a $2.6 million default judgment against a woman whose false rape allegation in 2002 cost the school district money and landed a fellow student in jail.

Although Wanetta Gibson has not appeared in court throughout the proceedings and her whereabouts were not know, the ruling allows the school district to recoup the money through her future wages and property.

Gibson was a student at Long Beach Poly High when she first sued the district for having lax security and an unsafe environment after she accused Brian Banks, a promising football star, of rape.

Gibson later recanted the rape claim on tape, paving the way for Banks’ exoneration of the charge – however, he had already served more than five years in prison.

Abstract
One of the most controversial disputes affecting the discourse related to violence against
women is the dispute about the frequency of false allegations of sexual assault. In an effort
to add clarity to the discourse, published research on false allegations is critiqued, and the
results of a new study described. All cases (N = 136) of sexual assault reported to a major
Northeastern university over a 10-year period are analyzed to determine the percentage of
false allegations. Of the 136 cases of sexual assault reported over the 10-year period, 8 (5.9%)
are coded as false allegations. These results, taken in the context of an examination of
previous research, indicate that the prevalence of false allegations is between 2% and 10%.
Link

So 6% (more than 1 in 20) allegations met the standard to be shown as false beyond reasonable doubt - which implies that the real percentage is likely higher, as explained here.

Arch Sex Behav. 1994 Feb;23(1):81-92.
False rape allegations.
Kanin EJ1.
Author information
Abstract
With the cooperation of the police agency of a small metropolitan community, 45 consecutive, disposed, false rape allegations covering a 9 year period were studied. These false rape allegations constitute 41% the total forcible rape cases (n = 109) reported during this period. These false allegations appear to serve three major functions for the complainants: providing an alibi, seeking revenge, and obtaining sympathy and attention. False rape allegations are not the consequence of a gender-linked aberration, as frequently claimed, but reflect impulsive and desperate efforts to cope with personal and social stress situations.
Source

Notice above that 41% of rape cases were found to be false allegations.