Contested, Discounted and Disproven Stories of Rape: The Social Pathways of Rape Reporting

Abstract

Tensions between societal and legal norms regarding rape shape people’s perceptions of the law and the use of various legal strategies. This article investigates what happens when a claim of rape is discredited, resulting in the claimant, instead, being prosecuted for presenting a false accusation. Based on the analysis of verdicts in cases of false accusations of rape, we identify four pathways into the criminal justice process for such cases and three turning points whereby an accusation of rape is contested by the police and instead prosecuted as a false accusation. We conclude that this seems to follow from the strength of the ideal that victims of rape are listened to and encouraged to come forward with their claims.