Re: Frequent false reports: where's the evidence? (was: Re: Rape Education Story #60

"Baba Yaga" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Daran <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote, in talk.rape:
>
> >the perception that the rate of rape
> >convictions (at 6% of all rape reports) was "too low", (What evidence is
> >there for this?), and that any increase is desirable.
>
> I know I've visited this teritory before, but still this is something
> I find peculiar, on a level.
>
> Warning: much as I dislike it, I'm about to mingle talk of rape with
> talk of FRAs.
>
> I can understand that a victim and his supporters might feel,
> strongly, that lack of a conviction in this case is an injustice, and
> that the lack of a conviction reflects a flaw in the system.  I
> understand that righteous indignation can be contagious, too.  Still,
> and surely unavoidably as soon as one moves beyond emotion into any
> sort of discussion [1], since there'll generally be insufficient
> evidence to prove rape beyond reasonable doubt, and by precisely the
> same token, there'll generally be insufficient evidence to prove false
> accusation (let alone culpably false accusation) prove beyond
> reasonable doubt, surely a low rate of conviction would, in both
> instances, demonstrate that the system is working well?

No...not for the man who has spent 6 months in jail because he could
not afford bail. Not the man who had to sell his belongings to pay for his
lawyer.
How is that *fair* to him?

>
> [1] As soon as I write it, I realise that that's tosh.  "Assumptions
> are the things we don't know we're making".
>
> Baba Yaga
> -- 
> And to do any good at all, just believing you're right and your
> motives are good isn't enough.  You have to... be in touch.
>  - Ursula le Guin