Saturday 22 May 2010

Anonymity for men accused of rape

This just feels wrong. But I'm not totally sure why. I guess it's partly because the accused in other cases don't get the same protection - although the 'accusers' in other cases don't get anonymity, as rape victims do, either.

Perhaps it's a genuine case of the intention being worse than the act. Apparently this move is intended to protect men who are falsely accused, which immediately makes it seem as if false allegations are common. I've never seen any real evidence that this is the case, so it really makes it look like women who come forward with an accusation of rape will experience another layer of doubt, suspicion and difficulty.

2 comments:

  1. Apparently the protection of man falsely accused of rape is considered more important than the rights and protection of victims of rape. You can't help but feel rape still isn't considered a real crime - doesn't seem far off given this http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/13/rape-convictions-low.

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  2. Exactly. Why should the supposition of innocence in rape cases being more strictly enforced (i.e. by anonymity) than in other serious crimes such as murder? It really does seem to suggest that 'she's probably just making it up'......

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