From elastic!exorcist!lethe!abyss!news2.compulink.com!not-for-mail Mon Aug 14 05:55:09 1995 Xref: elastic can.general:3363 ont.general:3689 tor.general:3663 Path: elastic!exorcist!lethe!abyss!news2.compulink.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: can.general,ont.general,tor.general From: bydesign@idirect.com (Dave Prichard) Subject: Re: NCFM: False Accusation of Rape (1/2) X-Newsreader: Forte Agent .99.82 X-Client-Port: 3745 Message-ID: References: X-Nntp-Posting-Host: chaos.idirect.com Date: 13 Aug 95 16:36:54 GMT Sender: bydesign@chaos.idirect.com Lines: 424 jey@aloha.net (JYama) wrote: >This file is brought to you by >The National Coalition of Free Men >a non-profit educational organization. >Membership dues are $30 per year. >PO Box 129, Manhasset, NY 11030 >E-mail: ncfm@liii.com >Web home page: http://www.liii.com/~ncfm2 >Telephone: (516) 482-6378. Office - leave a message. > (516) 794-5151. Hot-Line > Because we are an ALL VOLUNTEER organization, > calls can only be returned "collect". >===================================================================== > FALSE ACCUSATION OF RAPE > > > BELIEVE HER!: THE WOMAN NEVER LIES MYTH > by Frank S. Zepezauer > Copyright 1994 Frank Zepezauer. >Reprinted with permission of the author. Versions of this article >have appeared in "Chronicles" and in "Issues In Child Abuse >Accusations". Additional versions are expected to appear >elsewhere. Below is the unedited version with references. > > >Male sexual misconduct-rape, incest, stalking, sexual >harassment, child molestation, pornography trafficking-has, >according to some observers, become such a big problem that >it demands a big solution, not only the reform of our legal >system but of our entire society. Yet the increasingly >heated debate over this crisis has focused primarily on how >these misbehaviors are defined and how often they occur. >The estimated numbers keep mounting. We hear that perhaps >33 million women are suffering some form of rape, 42 million >from harassment, 60 million from child sexual abuse, and all >130 million of them-from toddler to great-grandmother-from a >toxic "rape culture" that suffocates the feminine spirit. > >Much less discussed is how often an allegation of male >sexual misconduct is false. The question seldom enters the >debate because, presumably, it had long ago been settled. >Pennsylvania State Law Professor Philip Jenkins, in a review >of the "feminist jurisprudence" which leads the sex crisis- >counter-attack, reports that in response to the question its >proponents have established an "unchallengeable orthodoxy." >It is that "women did not lie about such victimization, >never lied, not-out of personal malice, not from mental >instability or derangement."[1] > >Jenkins is not the first to cite this will to believe. >Wendy Kaminer reported that "it is a primary article of >faith among many feminists that women don't lie about rape, >ever!; they lack the dishonesty gene." [2] Eight years >earlier, in 1985, John O'Sullivan discovered a widespread >defense of the belief that "no woman would fabricate a rape >charge."[3] Feminists themselves admit as much. Law >Professor Susan Estrich stated that "the whole effort at >reforming rape laws has been an attack on the premise that >women who bring complaints are suspect."[4] Some feminists >believe that even defending that premise is a sex crime. >Alan Dershowitz reports that he was accused of sexual >harassment for discussing in class the possibility of false >rape allegations.[5] > >Believing the self-proclaimed victim of sexual misconduct >has thus evolved from ideological conviction to legal >doctrine and, in some jurisdictions, into law. California >now requires that jurors be explicitly told that a rape >conviction can be based on the accuser's testimony alone, >without corroboration.[6] Canada is proposing that a man >accused of rape must demonstrate that he received the >willing consent of a sexual partner. > >These new rules rest on the assumption that women do not lie >because they have no motive to lie. Consequently, as >Jenkins states, the question of the "victim's credibility" >has now become "crucial." > >Is that credibility warranted, particularly as feminist >jurisprudence would want it established, as nearly >automatic? Not if we consult recent history. And if we do, >we will find that we do indeed face asexual misconduct >crisis, but not the one radical feminists now insist is >ubiquitous in our society. > >Begin with evidence of false accusation of rape, the crime >which has become not only the metaphor for all cases of >sexual misconduct but for male sexuality itself. Alan >Dershowitz, for example, has further harassed his students >by telling them that an annual F.B.I survey of 1600 law >enforcement agencies discovered that eight percent of rape >charges are completely unfounded. That figure, which has >held steadily over the past decade, is moreover at least >twice as high as for any other felony. Unfounded charges of >assault, which like rape is often productive of conflicting >testimony, comprise only 1.6 percent of the total compared >to the 8.4 percent recorded for rape.[7] > >Consult also a recent development, DNA testing, which is now >becoming routine in rape investigations.[8] Also routine is >the discovery that a third of the DNA scans produce non- >matches. Consequently a growing number of men are not only >gaining acquittals but are also being released from prison. >As with all rape statistics, these figures need careful >scrutiny. Police investigators warn, for example, that a >mismatch proves innocence only when the DNA could have come >from no one but the assailant and its profile or makeup >doesn't match the suspects'. Even so, the DNA tests, >primarily a prosecutorial weapon, have now been added to the >arsenal of defense attorneys, and more evidence of false >allegation is appearing. > >Although useful, the F.B.I. and DNA data on sex crimes >result from unstructured number gathering. More informative >therefore are the results of a focused study of the false >allegation question undertaken by a team headed by Charles >P. McDowell of the U.S. Air Force Special Studies >Division.[9] Its significance derives not only from its >scholarly credentials but also its time of origin, 1984/85, >a period during which rape had emerged as a major issue but >before its definition included almost any form of non- >consensual sex. The McDowell team studied 556 rape >allegations. Of that total, 256 could not be conclusively >verified as rape. That left 300 authenticated cases of >which 220 were judged to be truthful and 80, or 27 percent, >were judged as false. In his report Charles McDowell >stated that extra rigor was applied to the investigation of >potentially false allegations. To be considered false one >or more of the following criteria had to be met: the victim >unequivocally admitted to false allegation, indicated >deception in a polygraph test, and provided a plausible >recantation. Even by these strict standards, slightly more >than one out four rape charges were judged to be false. > >The McDowell report itself has generated controversy even >though, when rape is a frequent media topic, it is not >widely known. Its calculations are no doubt problematic >enough to raise serious questions. If, out of 556 rape >allegations, 256 could not be conclusively verified as rape, >then a large number, 46 percent, entered a gray area within >which more than a few, if not all, of the accusations could >have been authentic. If so, the 27 percent false allegation >figure obtained from the remaining 300 cases could be badly >skewed. Moreover, the study itself focused on a possibly >non-representative population of military personnel. > >The McDowell team did in fact address these questions in >follow up studies. They recruited independent reviewers who >were given 25 criteria derived from the profiles of the >women who openly admitted false allegation. If all three >reviewers agreed that the rape allegation was false, it was >then listed by that description. The result: 60 percent of >the accusations were identified as false. McDowell also took >his study outside the military by examining police files >from a major Midwestern and a southwestern city. He found >that the finding of 60 percent held.[10] McDowell's >findings have received qualified confirmation from other >investigators. A survey of seven Washington D.C. area >jurisdictions in the 1991/2 period, for example, revealed >that an average of 24 percent of rape charges were >unfounded.[11] > >Alan Dershowitz's experience with an esoteric definition of >sexual harassment also raises questions about false >allegations in this newly-defined but widely publicized >crime. Skeptical checking has revealed that, as with rape, >the percentage of unfounded accusations of sexual harassment >may reach astonishingly high levels. That was the claim of >Randy Daniels, whose confirmation for New York City's Deputy >Mayor was derailed by a sexual harassment charge he was able >to refute. To see whether his experience was relatively >rare, Daniels checked with the Equal Employment Opportunity >Commission. He found that in 1991, the EEOC investigated or >mediated 2119 cases of sexual harassment and found that 59 >percent were determined to have no cause. [12] Since the >Hill/Thomas affair they have gone up sharply - up 64 percent >in one year - but so have false allegations, remaining >steadily in the plus 50 percent range. > >This rape and sexual harassment pattern - expanding >definitions, rapidly increasing accusations, intensely >politicized publicity campaigns, and significantly high >percentages of false allegations - has also appeared in >still another arena, the agencies which deal with the sexual >molestation of children. With this kind of sexual >misconduct the credibility of a third party, the child, >becomes a factor, and we hear, in addition to appeals to >"believe the woman" an appeal to "believe the child." We >are now learning that children can be manipulated into >supplying dramatic testimony of sexual abuse and that in >most cases the accusation originates not with the child but >with the mother. Thus the question of credibility once >again focuses on women. As one lawyer put it, "For a lot of >these people 'believe the child' is just code. What they >really mean is, 'believe the woman, no questions >asked.'"[13] > >To keep this issue in perspective note three significant >facts. The first is that of the 2,700,000 cases of child >abuse reported every year less than ten percent involve >serious physical abuse and only eight percent involved >alleged sexual abuse.[14] The second is that, contrary to >the male victimizer/female victim paradigm of feminist >ideology, at least as many boys as girls are victimized by >child abuse, if not more. The third is that the majority of >child abusers are women, that the most dangerous environment >for a child is a home formed by a single mother and her boy >friend and the safest is formed by a married mother and a >husband who is the child's biological father.[15] > >In many cases allegations of child sexual abuse occur in a >nasty divorce made nastier by a custody fight. It is now so >common that it has received scholarly attention and its own >acronym, S.A.I.D. (Sexual Allegations in Divorce). The >consensus is that in "S.A.I.D syndrome" cases the number of >such allegations increased so rapidly - up from 7 to 30 >percent in the eighties - [16], that one scholarly team >called it an "explosion." Others, noting how often the >guilt of the accused was assumed, used the word "hysteria" >and searched for analogies in the Salem and the McCarthy >witch hunts. Another consensus is being reached: that the >majority of these allegations are false. Melvin Guyer, >Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, >reports that "in highly contested custody cases where the >allegation is made, a number of researchers have found the >allegations to be false or unsubstantiated in anywhere from >60 to 80 percent of those cases."[17] Another >investigative team stated that off 200 cases they studied >"about three-fourths have ultimately been adjudicated as no >abuse."[18] Some studies have come in with a lower but >still significant estimate. For example, a 1988 study by >the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts said that >sexual molestation charges in divorces are probably false >one third of the time.[19] > >Allegations of child abuse, both divorce related and in >general, are flying out so frequently that those who believe >themselves victimized by false charges have organized a >nation wide support group, VOCAL (Victims Of Child Abuse >Laws), which now includes 80 local chapters. This group >refers its members to both informal and professional >counsel, sends out a newsletter, and offers access to a >rapidly expanding data base. In 1989, its summary of >relevant statistics cited 23 studies which reported findings >on both sexual and non-sexual child abuse. Among these, the >lowest assessment of false allegation was 35, the highest >82, averaging at 66 percent. > >Those joining VOCAL are finding that an even more dramatic >form of child abuse allegation is now sweeping the country. >It originates with a "recovered memory" of sexual atrocity, >often involving incest or satanic ritual abuse, usually made >by an adult daughter against her father, and almost always >discovered in therapy. This form of allegation made the >headlines when celebrities such as Roseanne Arnold, La Toya >Jackson, and Suzanne Sommers declared they had suddenly >remembered a long suppressed victimization. It is also >claiming celebrities among the accused, most notably >Cardinal Bernardin of the Roman Catholic Church. > >In such cases the question of credibility applies not only >to the accuser or accused but also to the therapist, the >therapeutic technique, and its supporting theory. Because >cases of recovered memory of abuse have surfaced relatively >recently, skeptical criticism is just now beginning to >appear in the media even though the underlying issues have >been under debate for decades. One result has been the >formation of an organization whose title already makes an >assertion, the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. Thus to >VOCAL we can add FMSF among the acronyms coined in response >to the false allegation problem. > >It appears to be widespread. The FMSF reported that within >one year of its founding in 1991, it had built a file of >5,000 families who believed themselves victimized by >accusations prompted by false memories. One researcher, >Eleanor Goldstein, solicited information by offering an 800 >number and received within one year 2000 calls.[20] >Goldstein estimates that the actual number of involved >families reaches into the tens of thousands. She also cites >data from the National Committee for the Prevention of Child >Abuse which confounds the highly inflated estimates of >victimization. Contrary to statements that one in four >women have been abused prior to the age of 18, retrospective >surveys reveal great variations, from 6 to 62 percent, >which means, Goldstein says, "that we don't have any valid >statistics at all."[21] > >How many of those reports of remembered child abuse, whether >in the high or low range, were false? Several sources >suggest that they may match figures on false allegations in >reports of rape and sexual harassment. The National Center >for Child Abuse reported that false allegations, which were >35 percent of all claims in 1975, had by 1993 reached 60 >percent.[22] Other sources suggest that the kind of child >abuse caused by satanic ritual cults is almost totally a >myth. There may be a Satan and he may have followers but, >contrary to widely held belief in the mid-eighties, they did >not surface all over middle America. Where accusations >actually led to trials, as in Jordan, Minnesota and in Los >Angeles in the McMartin Preschool Case, prosecutors left >with egg on their faces. An extensive New Yorker report of >a Washington State case reveals that a conviction was indeed >achieved. However, after a careful analysis of the facts, >the writer concludes that it was a grievous miscarriage of >justice, one more ghastly example of the recovered memory >theory gone amok.[23] > >With regard to recovered memory cases which do not involve >satanism, other indications point to a high number of false >allegations. A strong phalanx of professional opinion has >raised significant doubts about the veracity of long >repressed memory even within a carefully disciplined >therapeutic context. For that reason emphatic warnings are >now being issued against their being used in a courtroom - >not to mention a press conference - without persuasive >corroboration, which, it appears, is often missing. Some >mental health experts make the point more pungently. Dr. >Paul Fink, head of Psychiatry at Albert Einstein Medical >Center said, "If a therapist says 70 to 80 percent of >patients remember abuse, I say the therapist ought to be a >shoemaker."[24] Dr. Richard Ofshe, a member of the FSMF who >exposed the proliferating fallacies in the Washington State >case, stated that the incidence of cases in which repressed >memories correspond with facts about abuse is as common as >Siamese twins joined at the head."[25] > >Even so, reasonable doubts about a woman's veracity in all >these often sensationalized sexual misconduct cases does not >necessarily mean that she has deliberately lied. She may, >for example, have suffered from confusion, a problem now >proliferating as the definition for sex crimes becomes >increasingly complicated and inclusive, leaving all parties >struggling with questions about definition and propriety. >Or she may have been affected by emotional instability or >mental illness, which one researcher reported was a factor >in 75% of false allegation in divorce cases.[26] In some >cases a woman or her defenders might exaggerate a misdemeanor >into a felony or, as happened in Washington state, turn bad >parenting into sexual misconduct. In addition, there has >been a tendency to emphasize what a victim felt rather than >what happened. Thus, a woman can truthfully say she felt >raped, abused or harassed by behavior which is actually non- >criminal. Moreover, the woman's feelings are often >influenced by outside parties with whom she has confided - >friends, family members, social workers, therapists, >clergymen, rape counselors, lawyers, political activists - >any of whom can interpret her emotion as a sign of felonious >abuse. > >With regard to recovered memory, evidence published by the >FMS Foundation, suggests that the woman may be as much >victimized by therapy or by "recovery movement" enthusiasm >as by a perpetrator hidden in her subconscious. Ericka >Ingram, the primary accuser in the Washington State case, >had come under the influence of both secular and religious >counselors. Their intrusive encouragement helped to loosen >a flood of wild charges she leveled against her father and >mother as well as two of her father's colleagues. These >realizations have led to an increasing number of law suits >now being filed by former patients against incompetent or >overzealous therapists. By the same token, among the >divorcing wives who file sexual molestation charges against >their husbands are some who have been coached by self- >serving lawyers. Columnist Barbara Amiel stated that "a >lawyer is coming close to negligence if he does not advise a >client that in child custody cases and property disputes, >the mere mention of a child abuse allegation is a >significant asset."[27] > >In The Morning After, Katie Roiphe reported still another >cause of false allegations: political passions generated by >activities such as the "Take Back the Night" marches. She >tells about "Mindy" who so wanted to be a "part of this >blanket warmth, this woman-centered non-hierarchical >empowered notion" that she was "willing to lie."[28] A >similar story was told by a Stanford University professor >whose daughter was, he claimed, behind a conspiracy to >murder him. He testified that he had had a good >relationship with her until she attended an anti-rape rally. >"She appeared to have gotten swept up...and was experiencing >great emotional distress."[29] These mitigating >circumstances have often softened the judgment of women >guilty of misrepresentation. In the Washington D.C. area, >for example, police send women who lied about rape not to >the court room but to a counseling center. The Princeton >woman who accused a fellow student suffered no more than an >obligation to write a public apology. Because of the >sometimes compelling reasons for a departure from the truth, >many officials hesitate to call a woman a liar. > >But it appears, some women with little or no evidence do not >hesitate to call a man a rapist. It also appears that more >than a few of them have in fact knowingly and willfully >lied. Regardless of the influences working on Ericka >Ingram, for example, there came a point when the evidence >openly confounded her story, leaving her with the choice >either to persist or recant. Because she not only persisted >but further embellished her story, Richard Ofshe called her >an "habitual liar."[30] Whether Anita Hill lied about >Clarence Thomas still cannot be determined, but David Brock >demonstrated that in several other matters she had indeed >lied. And as Charles P. McDowell and other rape charge >researchers have discovered, at least one out of four women >in their study population have openly admitted to having >lied. > >Such disclosures should encourage skepticism toward the now >widely held belief that, in accusations of sexual >misconduct, women never lie. The same skepticism should be >activated when we hear its supporting explanation: that >filing such a charge is so painful that only a truthful >woman would proceed. That belief, although equally strong, >is equally suspect. The research that revealed how many >sexual misconduct allegations are false has also revealed >how often these unfounded accusations are strongly motivated. From elastic!exorcist!lethe!abyss!news2.compulink.com!not-for-mail Mon Aug 14 05:55:14 1995 Xref: elastic can.general:3364 ont.general:3690 tor.general:3664 Path: elastic!exorcist!lethe!abyss!news2.compulink.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: can.general,ont.general,tor.general From: bydesign@idirect.com (Dave Prichard) Subject: Re: NCFM: False Accusation of Rape (2/2) X-Newsreader: Forte Agent .99.82 X-Client-Port: 3745 Message-ID: References: X-Nntp-Posting-Host: chaos.idirect.com Date: 13 Aug 95 16:37:21 GMT Sender: bydesign@chaos.idirect.com Lines: 405 jey@aloha.net (JYama) wrote: >The clearest example of compelling motive can be found in >the Sexual Allegation in Divorce(S.A.I.D) syndrome. In such >cases questionable allegations multiply because the accuser >has far more to gain than to lose. Simply charging a >divorcing spouse with child molestation - or wife battering >or spousal rape - can turn a hot but evenly balanced custody >battle into a rout. In many cases, the accused husband must >vacate what had been the "family" home and submit to >prolonged alienation from his children. He also finds >himself ensnared by both the criminal justice and the social >service bureaucracies whose conflicting rules of evidence >can deny him the presumption of innocence. In a process >that only a Kafka can describe, he must then devote his >resources to defending himself rather than pursuing the >original divorce litigation. Even then he may find himself >in jail or in court ordered therapy while his accuser has >won de facto-custody not only of the children but of the >house. Should he eventually win vindication, a process >which can literally take years, he may enjoy at best a >hollow victory which leaves him financially and emotionally >drained, nursing a permanently injured reputation, >functioning as an "absent" father with a sparse schedule of >controlled visits. It is no wonder, then, that commentators >have sometimes used dramatic language, such as "the ultimate >weapon" or the "atom bomb," to express the reality. > >The impressive results that are so often easily achieved >with false allegations in custody disputes suggest the kind >of temptations women may feel in other situations. Among >those found to have lied about rape or sexual harassment, >for example, a number of motivations have been identified. >The McDowell report listed those they uncovered in declining >order of appearance. "Spite or revenge" and"to compensate >for feelings of guilt or shame" accounted for forty percent >of such allegations.[31] A small percentage were attributed >to mental/emotional disorder or attempted extortion." In >all cases, then, the falsely alleging woman had any of >several strong motives to lie. But, as with the S.A.I.D. >syndrome, the most common motive was anger, an emotion which >prompts more than a few embattled woman to reach for "the >ultimate weapon." > >Although money gained through extortion ranked low among the >motives for false rape allegations, it appears to rank >higher when sexual harassment claims prove to be unfounded. >A casual survey of some of the suits that have been filed >suggests why. In the eighties, successful claims often >brought damages in the $50,000 to $100,000 range. After the >explosion ignited by the Hill/Thomas case, not only the >number of claims but damage awards have skyrocketed. A >clothing store cashier successfully sued her employer for >$500,000. Employees of Stroh's Brewery claimed that the >company's commercials, which showed the "Swedish Bikini >Team," constituted harassment and sued for damages ranging >between $350,000 and $550,000. In the famous locker room >harassment case, Lisa Olson was reported to have received a >settlement ranging between $250,00 and $700,000. Damage >claims - and awards - in the millions are becoming more >common. > >In some cases which were later proved to be false, the >financial stakes were particularly high. One lawyer was >charged with coaching six of his clients to "embellish or >lie" about some of the incidents on which they based a >sexual harassment case. They had asked for $487,000.[32] >Eleven women from the Miss Black America Pageant, after >claiming that Mike Tyson had touched them on their rears, >filed a $607 million lawsuit against him. Several of the >contestants later admitted they had lied in the hope of >getting publicity and cashing in on the award money which >would have given them around $20 million a piece.[33] > >But where extortion does appear, the motivation may be >political as well as monetary not only in particular cases >but in the growth of the entire sexual misconduct crisis. >Whether it is rape or sexual harassment or divorce-related >child molestation or recovered incest memory, many of the >investigators eventually mention the influence of >ideological feminism. Katie Roiphe, for example, found >feminist politics at work in the phony rape story invented >by Mindy, the imaginative Princeton co-ed. Norman >Podhoretz, who wrote about "Rape in Feminist Eyes," >attributes the current over-publicized obsession with rape >to "the influence of man_hating elements within the >[woman's] movement [which] has grown so powerful as to have >swept all before it.[34] As far back as 1985 John >Sullivan attributed the over-heated denial of false >accusation to attempts to defend the "feminist theory of >rape."[35] And Philip Jenkins, who reported the trend >toward automatically-assumed female credibility, stated that >it was part of a larger campaign to establish "feminist >jurisprudence." > >Whatever their motivations in particular cases, there is >little doubt that ideological feminists have achieved >significant political gains from publicizing the sexual >misconduct crisis. Lisa Olson's feelings of harassment may >for example have been genuine, but as the focus for a >prolonged media event it established for female reporters an >access to locker rooms the was as unpopular with the general >public as it was with male athletes. The real Anita Hill >may or may not have been lying, but the Hill/Thomas affair >propelled sexual harassment into a hot issue that rapidly >generated a sub industry of scholars, consultants, and >bureaucrats, prompted a "Year of the Woman" campaign that >helped several women into congress, and revived a flagging >woman's movement. > >The same spectacular results may follow from the Tailhook >Scandal, which, like Hill/Thomas, is raising serious >questions about motive and credibility. Whether Paula >Coughlin's testimony will become as clouded as Anita Hill's, >her whistle-blowing has already scuttled the careers of a >still growing number of naval officers, not to mention the >Secretary of the Navy himself, intensified in-service anti- >sexual harassment campaigns, reinforced an already strong >feminist presence in the armed forces, and helped soften the >military's granitic opposition to women in combat. These >incidents also helped to power a "Violence Against Women" >bill through congress which will channel still more millions >of government money into women's programs, not to mention >winning congressional validation of feminist jurisprudence. >That's a lot of political gain achieved by the words of a >few women who suffered little more than an affront to their >sensibilities. > >This growing gap - between the anguish suffered by the >victims of traditionally - defined sex crimes and what is >suffered by victims of ideologically-defined crimes - >suggests that the crisis we face is not the result of a >sexual misconduct epidemic but of the crisis mentality >itself, an ever more hysterical vision of a "rape culture." >It has a foundation in reality. In what has become a ritual >disclaimer, those who have exposed the surprising number of >false allegations of sexual misconduct have also admitted >the appalling number of genuine accusations. And those who >have attacked the incompetence, self-interest, and zealotry >that has denied the extent of false allegation have also >recognized the courage and energy that has exposed the >problem of honest allegation begging vainly for belief. > >They have therefore applauded the effort to seek for this >long ignored injustice both social and legal remediation. >But that effort, carried too far and exploited too often, >has generated another gap: between our awareness of the now >highly visible victims of sexual misconduct and the almost >invisible victims of false allegation. The lesser known >victims have their own stories to tell, enough to reveal >another long ignored injustice that demands remediation. >False allegations of sexual misconduct have deprived a >rapidly growing number of men and women of their >reputations, their fortunes, their livelihood, and their >freedom; have diverted the time and money of countless tax- >supported agencies; have destroyed not only individuals but >entire families and communities; and have left some so >desperate that they have taken their lives. > >For that reason, in the current revision of our sexual >misconduct code, we must retain as a guiding premise the >realization that women can lie because, for several reasons, >more than a few women have lied, more often than researchers >into false allegation had expected, far more often than >"rape culture" ideologues have admitted...too often, in any >event, to be ignored by our jurisprudence, feminist or >otherwise. > >THE REFERENCES TO THIS ARTICLE WILL FOLLOW, BUT FIRST: > > > >ANOTHER INNOCENT MAN - On January 29, 1992 the Fox >television series, "A Current Affair", broadcast the case of >Wayne Dumond. Wayne has served seven years in Arkansas for >raping a distant cousin and friend of Democratic >presidential candidate, Bill Clinton. Twice Wayne has >appeared before the clemency board in Arkansas and Mike >Gaines, state parole board chairman, has recommended that >Wayne be granted clemency. This is in part based on the DNA >test that concludes that Wayne could not possibly have >committed the crime. Gaines' recommendation has been >denied. Until the Gennifer Flowers case motivated the press >to dig up skeletons, the Wayne Dumond case went unnoticed by >the national press and was ignored by governor Clinton who >insists on keeping Dumond behind bars. > >There is strong suspicion that Coolege Connley, who was >Sheriff of Forest City, AR, at the time the crime was >committed, had Dumond framed. This is against the >background of the Sheriff eventually being sentenced to 150 >years for corruption (he died two years later) and the fact >that the victim of the "supposed" rape named another man as >her attacker before the arrest of Dumond. Nevertheless, a >jury convicted Dumond. Why Connley did what he did is >unclear. Did he have a personal grudge? Was he acting on >orders from someone else? > >What makes this case particularly disgusting is that on the >night of his arrest Sheriff Connley hired thugs to castrate >Dumond and burn down his house. The Sheriff then sealed >Dumond's testicles in formaldehyde and personally took them >around to various people proclaiming that this is what they >do to rapists in Forest City. Dumond is still in prison. >His wife Duffy and neighbors are fighting for his release. >Any direct connection with Bill Clinton is still unclear >(e.g., why did the Sheriff do what he did?), because >the governor, in this case, as with the Flowers incident >(Flowers has accused Clinton of having an extramarital >affair with her), refuses to give any direct answers to the >media. Clinton did say on the 29th that he had asked the >state's Lieutenant Governor to look into the case. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >REFERENCE NOTES: > >1.- Philip Jenkins, "Hard Cases and Bad Law," Chronicles,- >10/93, p.19. His emphasis. > >2.- Wendy Kaminer, "Feminism's Identity Crisis," The >Atlantic Monthly, 10/93, p.67A > >3.- John O'Sullivan, "Rape in the New Age," |American >Spectator, 8/85, p. 22. > >4.- "Rape and the Law," Newsweek, 5/20/85, p.61. > >5.- Alan Dershowitz, "Sexual Harassment," The Liberator, >12/93, p.22. > >6.- As cited by Warren Farrell from the Associated Press, >"Ruling Favors Victim's Word in Rape Cases," San Diego >Union-Tribune, 5/8/92 in Warren Farrell, The Myth of Male >Power (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993. > >7.- Alan M. Dershowitz, "Justice," Penthouse, 9/91, p.52. > >8.- Kevin Krajik, "Genetics in the Courtroom," Newsweek, >1/11/93, p.64. > >9.- Issued by Charles P. McDowell, Ph.D., Chief, Special >Studies Division of Investigative Analysis, Headquarters, >USAF Office of Special Investigations, Washington, D.C. > >10.- See Warren Farrell, PhD. The Myth of Male Power (New >York: Simon and Schuster, 1993) pp. 321-329. > >11.- Stephen Buckley, "Unfounded Reports of Rape Confound >Area Police Investigators," The Washington Post, 6/27/92, p. >B-1. > >12.- Randy Daniels, "Sexual Harassment," Transitions" (PO >Box 129, Manhasset, New York, NY 11030) May/June, 1993, p.1. > >13.- Harry Stein, "Presumed Guilty", Playboy, June, 1992, >p.160. > >14.- Leroy Schultz, "One Hundred Cases of Unfounded Child >Sexual Abuse: A Survey and Recommendations," AIssuesin >Child Abuse Accusations, Vol. 1, #1, 1989, pp. 29-38. > >15.- These assertions are themselves widely disputed. >However, one of the most extensive studies on the subject, >Murray A. Strauss and Richard J. Gelles, Physical Violence >in American Families, (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, >1990, reports that "for physical abuse, the rate is higher >for mother than for fathers": 17.7 percent for mothers vs. >10.1 for fathers. They found that pre-teen boys are >slightly more likely to be abused than their sisters but >that the pattern changes after puberty. Strauss/Gelles, >however, immediately refer to some contravening studies that >show higher rates for fathers. > Susan Steinmetz, who has collaborated with Strauss and >Gelles, reported independently that "mother abused children >62 percent more often than fathers, and that male children >were more than twice as likely to suffer physical injury. >[S.K.Steinmetz, "The Battered Husband Syndrome, Victimology, >2 (1977/8). p. 499.] > David C. Morrow "Toward Gynology," Alladins's Window >(Afterglow Publications, P.O.Box 399, Shingletown, CA >96088)] reports the following: "Drawing upon reports of the >American Humane Association, the Association of Juvenile >Courts, the National Center for the Prevention of Child >Abuse, and the FBI's 1978 crime report, John Rossler of >Equal Rights for Fathers of New York State estimated that >mothers commit over two-thirds of all child abuse, 80 >percent of it in sole custody and none in joint custody >situations, while boy friends and new husbands perpetrate >most of the rest. A similar study conduct a few years >earlier in Utah by Ken Pangborn showed abuse 37 percent >higher among single mothers than the general population and >67 percent of all abuse in the doing of women of whom 80 >percent are single mothers." > In the data sheet supplied by VOCAL several of the >cited studies report the hazards to children in single >mother households. For example, "Russel...reported that of >970 adult women in San Francisco [whose household's had been >involved in father/child incest] 17 percent stated that a >stepfather was the principal father figure. Only two >percent were biological fathers.' > Thomas Fleming ["Uncommon Properties," Chronicles"] >cites a Canadian study that concluded that children were 40 >times as likely to be molested in broken and illegitimate >families as compared to those in intact two parent families. > The consensus thus appears to support the assertion >that child abuse is much more common in single parent >families, that women are more often the abusers, and that >male children are more often the victims. > > > >16.- Douglas J. Besharov, a former prosecutor of child abuse >cases in New York and founding Director of the U.S. National >Center on Child Abuse, as quoted by Harry Stein. > >17.- As quoted by Eric Felten, "Divorce's Atom Bomb: Child >Sex Abuse," Insight, 11/25/91,p.10. > >18.- Felten, p.10. >, >19.- Robert Dvorchak, "Sex Abuse Charge, 'Ultimate Weapon' >in Custody Cases, Houston Chronicle, 8/22/92. > >20.- Eleanor Goldstein, Confabulations (Boca Raton, FL: SIRS >Books, 1992), p.3. > >21.- Goldstein, p.2. > >22.- AFMS Newsletter - 7/3/93. > >23.- Lawrence Wright, "Remembering Satan," The New Yorker, >5/17/93 and 5/24/93. > >24.- As quoted by Darrell Sifford, "A Special Tribute," >Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/15/92. > >25.- As quoted by Richard Brzustowicz, jr. and George Paul >Csicsery, "The Remembrance of Crimes Past," Heterodoxy, 1/93 >p.8. > >26.- Dr. Ralph Underwanger, as reported by Robert Dvorchak, >"Sex abuse charge 'ultimate weapon' in custody cases," >Houston Chronicle, 8/22/92 > >27.- Barbara Amiel, "Feminism Hits Middle Age," The National >Review, 11/24/89, p. 25. > >28.- Katie Roiphe, The Morning After: Sex, Fear and Feminism >on Campus, (Boston: Little, Brownand Company, 1993), pp. >40/41. > >29.- S.L.Wykes, "'Plot' target says daughter changed," San >Jose Mercury, 12/9/92, 1-B. > >30.- Wright, New Yorker, 5/24/93, p. 69. > >31.- As reported by Warren Farrell, The Myth of Male Power, >(New York: Simon and Schuster,1993), p.325. > >32.- San Jose Mercury, 10/14/93. > >33.- As reported by Warren Farrell, p. 328. > >34.- Norman Podhoretz, "Rape in Feminist Eyes," Commentary, >10/9, p.29. > >35.- John O'Sullivan, "Rape in the New Age," American >Spectator, 8/85. The above article has been reposted from alt.mens_rights. If, as it suggests, Canada is about to enact legislation denying the assumption of innocence until proven guilty it will be a travesty. It would appear that the government would like you to carry a legal document to be signed and notarized should you get lucky or conceivably even have sex with your wife. Having had more than a dozen friends and acquaintances falsely charged or extorted for money in the last few years, one of whom lost a good position without compensation though the charge was proved to be false, such legislation frightens me as it may open a floodgate for false charges. More importantly, the legitimate victim may have their claim doubted if there is a great deal of false charges. Such legislation is contrary to our system of innocent till proven guilty and will only serve to harm both men and women. Write your M.P. and the Minister of Justice and voice your strongest opposition to this legislation. Dave