Once again, another
politician has gotten it wrong when it comes to sexual violence on college
campuses. According to Georgia Rep. Earl
Ehrhart, House Bill-51 which he sponsored, will provide greater protection for
the rights of the accused in sexual assault cases. Behind that logic is the
subtle but too often heard implication that women are deceptively “crying rape”,
and that there are large numbers of falsely accused who are being wrongly
prosecuted.
Noting can be farther
from the facts.
False allegations of rape
hold a disproportionate place in the public imagination. False allegations are nothing but statistical
outliers and the bottom line fact that people not only believe them but continually
dismiss victims is a sad reflection of the prevalence of rape culture in our
society. Overall, 2- 8 % of reported
rapes are false but over 40 - 60% of all rapes are not even reported. A DOJ study in 2000 found that fewer than 5%
of completed and attempted rapes of collegiate women are reported to police,
and that figure drops even lower for other forms of sexual violence. According
to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, rape is the most underreported crime, with an estimated 63
percent of sexual assaults never reported to police at all.
For every 100 incidents
of rape that do get reported, maybe two to eight at most are false accusations,
with possibly another 600 going unreported. That
is the problem lawmakers should direct their energies toward solving.
One in five young women is
assaulted during their college years. One reason the frequency of sexual
assault on campuses continues to be high is that schools are in denial about
the scope of the problem and too many have fragmented reporting channels. Unclear and conflicted internal disciplinary
systems can compound victims’ suffering. Women in college have also identified
fear of not being believed, not being sure whether what they experienced was a
sexual assault and not wanting family or other people to know about the
incidents as reasons for not reporting.
This bill will increase those fears.
Our system too often fails victims of sexual assault – the
campus justice system through Title IX provides a measure of accountability
that would be stripped away under HB-51, and make it harder for victims to get
justice. Under the Clery Act,
another federal law that intersects with Title IX, a bill of rights for
survivors of campus sexual assault requires colleges and universities to
provide a number of protections such as notification of counseling resources
and offering the option of reporting a case to either the school, law
enforcement, or both. It also provides academic or living accommodations, such
as changing dorms and classes. Schools are discouraged from burdening the survivor,
instead of the perpetrator, with the responsibility to change their
circumstances. Additionally, it requires that survivors be notified of the
final outcome of any disciplinary proceeding.
Right now on college
campuses we have literally no idea how many students are being sexually abused. That’s a far bigger problem than a few false
rape allegations.
It is incredible how much
concern this bill and its sponsors devote to something that is so rare it is
practically irrelevant and inconsequential to any serious discussion of sexual
assault.
Rep. Ehrhart’s concern
for the families of the falsely accused is admirable. “I’m not going to sit with any more moms like
that if I can help it. It’s the most wrenching experience I ever had,” he said.
How many victims of
sexual assault and their mothers has
he ever sat with?
From; Sliding Down The Razor's Edge (3.29.2017)
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