![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
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%.
Keywords false allegations, sexual assault
| Abbey, A. , Zawackia, T. , Buck, P.O. , Clinton, A.M. , & McAuslan, P. ( 2004). Sexual assault and alcohol consumption: What do we know about their relationship and what types of research are still needed? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 9, 271-303. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Archambault, J. , & Lonsway, K.A. ( 2007). Clearance methods for sexual assault cases. San Luis Obispo, CA: EVAW International. Google Scholar | |
| Brownmiller, S. ( 1975). Against our will: Men, women, and rape. New York: Ballantine. Google Scholar | |
| Clark, L. , & Lewis, D. ( 1977). Rape: The price of coercive sexuality. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Women’s Press. Google Scholar | |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation. (1997). Uniform crime reports. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Google Scholar | |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2004). Uniform crime reporting handbook. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Google Scholar | |
| Fisher, B.S. , Cullen, F.T. , & Turner, M.G. ( 2000). The sexual victimization of college women. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Google Scholar, Crossref | |
| Frazier, P.A. , & Haney B. ( 1996). Sexual assault cases in the legal system: Police, prosecutor, and victim perspectives. Law and Human Behavior, 20, 607-628. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Frohmann, L. ( 1991). Discrediting victims’ allegations of sexual assault: Prosecutorial accounts of case rejections. Social Problems , 38, 213-226. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Grace, S. , Lloyd, C. , & Smith, L.J.F. ( 1992). Rape: From recording to conviction (Research and Planning Unit Paper 71). London: Home Office . Google Scholar | |
| Gregory, J. , & Lees, S. ( 1996). Attrition in rape and sexual assault cases. British Journal of Criminology, 36, 1-17. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Harris, J. , & Grace, S. ( 1999). A question of evidence? Investigating and prosecuting rape in the 1990s (Home Office Research Study 196). London: Home Office. Google Scholar | |
| Hale, M. ( 1847). The history of the pleas of the crown (1st American ed., Vol. 1). Philadelphia: Robert H. Small. Google Scholar | |
| Halligan, S.L. , Michael, T. , Clark, D.M. , & Ehlers, A. ( 2003). Posttraumatic stress disorder following assault: The role of cognitive processing, trauma memory, and appraisals. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 419-431. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Heenan, M. , & Murray, S. ( 2006). Study of reported rapes in Victoria, 2000-2003. Melbourne, Australia: Office of Women’s Policy, Department for Victorian Communities. Google Scholar | |
| Hmcpsi /Hmic. ( 2002). A report on the joint inspection into the investigation and prosecution of cases involving allegations of rape. London: Home Office. Google Scholar | |
| Iacp. (2005a). Investigating sexual assaults: Model policy. Alexandria, VA: Author. Google Scholar | |
| Iacp. (2005b). Investigating sexual assaults: Concepts and issues paper. Alexandria, VA: Author. Google Scholar | |
| Jordan, J. ( 2004). Beyond belief? Police, rape and women’s credibility . Criminal Justice, 4, 29-59. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals | |
| Kanin, E.J. ( 1994). False rape allegations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23, 81-87. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Kelly, L. , Lovett, J. , & Regan, L. ( 2005). A gap or chasm? Attrition in reported rape cases ( Home Office Research Study 293). London: Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate. Google Scholar | |
| Lea, S.J. , Lanvers, U. , & Shaw, S. ( 2003). Attrition in rape cases. British Journal of Criminology, 43, 583-599. Google Scholar, ISI | |
| Lisak, D. ( 2007). False allegations of rape: A critique of Kanin. Sexual Assault Report, 11, 1-2, 6, 9. Google Scholar | |
| Lonsway, K.A. , & Archambault, J. (2008). Understanding the criminal justice response to sexual assault: Analysis of data from the Making a Difference project. Unpublished manuscript. Google Scholar | |
| Lonsway, K.A. , Archambault, J. , & Berkowitz, A.B. (2007). False reports: Moving beyond the issue to successfully investigate and prosecute non-stranger sexual assault . San Luis Obispo, CA: EVAW International . Google Scholar | |
| McCahill, T.W. , Meyer, L.C. , & Fischman, A.M. (1979). The aftermath of rape. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. Google Scholar | |
| MacDonald, H. ( 2008). The campus rape myth. City Journal, 18, 1. Retrieved on October 19, 2010, from http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_1_campus_rape.html Google Scholar | |
| Macy, R.J. , Nurius, P.S. , & Norris, J. ( 2007). Latent profiles among sexual assault survivors: Understanding survivors and their assault experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 520-542. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| National Victim Center and the Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center. (1992). Rape in America: A report to the nation. Arlington, VA: Author . Google Scholar | |
| Perkins, C. , & Klaus, P. ( 1996). Criminal victimization 1994 (Report No. NCJ-158022). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice Google Scholar | |
| Roiphe, K.A. ( 1993, June 13). Date rape’s other victim. New York Times, p. 26. Google Scholar | |
| Rumney, P.N.S. ( 2006). False allegations of rape. Cambridge Law Journal, 65, 128-158. Google Scholar, Crossref | |
| Schafran, L.H. ( 1993). Women in the criminal justice system: Writing and reading about rape: A primer. St. John’s Law Review, 66, 979-1045. Google Scholar | |
| Schuller, R.A. , & Stewart, A. ( 2000). Police responses to sexual assault complaints: The role of perpetrator/complainant intoxication. Law and Human Behavior , 24, 535-551. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Spohn, C. , Beichner, D. , & Davis-Frenzel, E. (2001). Prosecutorial justifications for sexual assault case rejection: Guarding the "gateway to justice." Social Problems, 48, 206-235. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Ullman, S.E. ( 2003). A critical review of field studies on the link of alcohol and adult sexual assault in women. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 8, 471-486. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI |
