False Reports Are The Exception, Not The Rule
Society’s gut reaction when discussing sexual assault or child sexual abuse is so often assuming that most reports are false. This misconception could not be further from the truth.
First, there is not reliable research on the matter. The studies considering this issue are not vast or accurate enough to be considered conclusive. Although a few studies have found between 2% and 10% of reported cases of sexual assault are “false,” the studies include fallacies that make these statistics misleading.
For example, in some of the studies, a sexual assault report would be classified as “false” simply if a victim ultimately decided not to press charges or where there were inconsistencies in the victim’s statements. However, both of these indicators are directly in line with trauma response and are to be expected where a sexual assault has occurred.
Some of the studies also classified a report as “false” where law enforcement simply could not prove the technical elements of a crime “beyond a reasonable doubt.” However, just because a prosecutor decides there is not enough evidence to prosecute a crime does not mean the survivor was lying! That too is a fallacy.
Second, and more importantly, for every false report there are thousands more unreported cases of sexual assault. In fact, at least 69% of sexual assaults are never reported to the police. This harmful assumption drives survivors further into secrecy and silence. Next time you hear someone make this harmful assumption—correct them. These small corrections pave the way for giving survivors a voice.
SOURCES: RAINN; National Sexual Violence Resource Center