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Oct 6, 2016 · This chapter provides a broad overview of the various causes, motivations, and cognitive biases that can lead to erroneous allegations and prosecution. Abuse and false accusations of abuse both happen, and both can do considerable harm. An allegation may be true, partly true, or false.
- Introduction
- Charging and Volume of Rape Cases
- Consent
- Disclosure
- False Allegations
- Victims of Rape
- CPS Complainant Data
- Suspects of Rape
- CPS Defendant Data
- Links to Additional Published Data Sets
Every allegation of rape that is referred to us by the police is dealt with in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. This means we will only charge where there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest to pursue the case. Rape is an extremely serious offence and when cases are re...
Justice for all is a cornerstone of our work. Casework decisions are taken fairly, impartially and with integrity, to ensure justice for victims, witnesses, defendants and the public. The function of the CPS is not to presume guilt or decide a suspect is guilty, or automatically believe a complainant; it is to make fair, independent and objective a...
A person consents to sexual activity only if they agree by choice, and they have the freedom and the capacity to make that choice. The CPS has to prove the absence of consent in rape cases, and needs to consider if the complainant did not have the freedom and/or capacity to consent. There is no requirement to prove an absence of consent for rape of...
Dealing with disclosure is a fundamental part of the investigation and prosecution of all criminal cases, not only rape cases. The disclosure process, which requires prosecutors to provide the defence with any material that is capable of undermining the case for the prosecution or assisting the case for the accused, is a crucial part of a fair crim...
If a case is not charged by the CPS or is stopped before a trial this does not mean the complainant made a false allegation
A decision to stop a case on evidential grounds does not mean that an allegation is false. It means that the case does not meet the evidential test required to put an allegation before a jury under the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Research has shown that false allegations of rape are rare. A CPS report published in 2013showed that over a 17-month period, there were 5,651 prosecutions for rape and, during the same period, there were 35 prosecutions for making false allegations of rape.
The CPS prosecutes false allegations of rape when the evidential test is met
False allegations of rape or sexual assault can have a very damaging impact on the person falsely accused. Such cases are dealt with robustly and those falsely accused should feel confident that the CPS will prosecute these cases wherever there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to do so.
An acquittal does not automatically mean there was a false allegation
When a jury returns a not guilty verdict it means that they were not satisfied ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that the offence was committed.
Victims react in many different ways to a sexual assault
All RASSO prosecutors have received training on the traumatic impact of rape and the fictions and stereotypes that surround these cases. Judges provide standard directionsto the effect that juries are directed to set aside any stereotypical assumptions about how victims and assailants act and react.
It may take time for a rape victim to come forward and report
The trauma of rape can cause feelings of shame and guilt which might inhibit a victim from making a complaint. This fact was recognised by the Court of Appeal in [R v D (JA) October 24 2008]where it was held that judges are entitled to direct juries that due to shame and shock, victims of rape might not complain for some time, and that a late complaint does not necessarily mean that it is a false complaint. Judges provide standard directionsto the effect that juries are to set aside any stere...
Volume of Violence against Women and Girls cases
VAWG prosecutions now account for one in five of the overall CPS caseload. We always assess each case according to the Code for Crown Prosecutors. In the year ending March 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that there was an increase in the number of domestic abuse-related offences recorded by the police (up 24% to 746,219 from 599,549). In the year ending March 2020, the ONS reported that there was a decrease in rape offences by 6% (to 55,130 offences) compared with the...
Gender
1. Data on the gender of rape complainants was recorded for 3,181 individuals in 2019–20. 2. Of all rape victims 2,249 were female, 415 were male and the gender was not recorded for 517 victims.
Age
1. From those complainants where age was recorded in 2019-20, the largest groupings of complainants were aged 25–59 (50.3%) and 18–24 (22.3%) 2. 47.4% of complainants (1,308) were aged 24 and under, with 692 (25.1%) of complainants being under 18 years old.
90% of rape and sexual assault offences are committed by offenders who are known to the complainant. People are often attacked in settings where they feel safe such as the home or workplace.
Gender
Of the 2,102 defendants prosecuted for rape in 2019-20: 1. 2,064 defendants were male (98.2%), 27 were female (1.3%). Gender was not recorded for eleven defendants.
Ethnicity
1. In 2019-20, 50.9% of defendants were categorised as White, 5.3% of defendants were identified as Asian and 7.0% were identified as Black.
Age
1. In 2019-20, from those defendants where age was recorded, the majority of defendants were aged 25–59 (61.7%) and 18–24 (18.0%) 2. 25.7% of defendants (539) were aged 24 and under, with 160 (7.6%) of defendants being under 17 years old.
The latest published annual rape flagged data sets (2019-20) Historical published annual rape flagged data
There are many ways in which wrongful allegations can occur, and not all of them are due to malicious intent. Understanding this could go some way towards reconciling the advocates for those who have been sexually abused and those who have been wrongfully accused.
Oct 19, 2019 · This chapter explores several issues related to false allegations of sexual assault. The definition of a false allegation varies and it is not clear if the field has done research of sufficient quality to accurately determine the rates of false allegations.
- William T. O’Donohue
- 2019
Aug 5, 2022 · False allegations may be deliberate or inadvertent or partially true with elements distorted or embellished. Deliberate fabrications are usually motived by personal gains such as material profit, revenge, provide an alibi, or to win sympathy.
Jan 1, 2022 · Discussions of false allegations have the potential to be decisive moments in engaging boys and men in sexual assault prevention. If facilitators ably address the audience’s concerns about study methodology, they have an opportunity to turn this correction of misperceptions into a teachable moment.
People also ask
What is a false allegation?
Can a false allegation be 95% likely to be true?
Should a false allegation be operationalized?
Why do false allegations occur?
Can a false allegation be retracted?
Are false allegations endorsed by people who make false allegations?
Jan 11, 2023 · Yet retracting an allegation may be caused by many factors, such as fear of retaliation, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hopelessness, and coercion (Barrow-Grint, 2016; Hester and Lilley, 2017). As such, withdrawing an allegation is far from definitive evidence of a false allegation.
