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A L S O+T O D A Y [ MOTHERS WHO THINK ]
T A B L E+T A L K School reform is gaining momentum, but is privatizing education taking things a step too far? Take your side in the Education area of Table Talk
R E C E N T L Y Where have we gone? $400 million and a mule? Genocide, and
drug-trafficking too Let the sexual healing
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WHO SAYS WOMEN NEVER LIE ABOUT RAPE? | PAGE 1, 2, 3
While Kanin cautioned against generalizing from his data, he concluded that "false rape accusations are not uncommon." It's hard to dismiss him as a backlasher: His pioneering research on "male sexual aggression in courtship" goes back to the 1950s and is still cited in feminist literature on date rape. And he is careful not to legitimize once-popular notions that "crying rape" is a product of some defect in the female psyche or of a secret rape wish. Some false complainants, of course, are mentally disturbed. But for most women in Kanin's study, the hoax served a practical purpose, an "alibi" for an illicit sexual encounter that may be discovered through pregnancy or in some other way; revenge for rejection or betrayal. Some argue that no woman would expose herself to the ordeal of prosecuting a rape charge for such frivolous reasons. But as Kanin points out, men and women do commit extreme acts with highly unpleasant consequences (including murder) over "petty and commonplace transgressions." Feminists often decry our culture's alleged eagerness to believe the "myths of the lying woman." But it seems that it's the "victims don't lie" myth that is entrenched today. There is virtually no research on false allegations; Kanin's study (which he says a female colleague tried to discourage him from pursuing) received no press coverage. The "believe the woman" principle has also gained ground in the legal system. Once, many states' laws required the testimony of the accuser to be corroborated by other evidence (though only a minority of jurisdictions ever strictly enforced this rule, and by 1980 it was nearly extinct). Feminists had a strong claim of discrimination when they noted that there was no such requirement for robbery or assault. Still, as feminist legal scholar Susan Estrich acknowledged in her influential writings on rape law in the 1980s, without corroboration a conviction is far less likely for any crime. But Estrich argued that, since "corroboration may be uniquely absent" in acquaintance rape cases, giving the same weight to corroboration for rape as for robbery or felony assault was unfair to rape victims. Of course, it then follows that to be "fair," we should convict defendants in rape cases on less evidence -- and give the accuser's word more weight -- than in other crimes. Which makes those old sexist warnings about how hard it is for an innocent man to defend himself against a charge of rape ring uncomfortably true. "Thank goodness," writes New York prosecutor Linda Fairstein in her book "Sexual Violence," "[the victim's] testimony -- when it is credible -- is all that is needed to convict a rapist, as it is any other criminal." But what is "credible"? In 1996, Los Angeles police officer Harris Scott Mintz was accused of rape by two women who were said to be "very credible": a woman in the neighborhood he patrolled, then his own wife. At a pretrial hearing, the judge pronounced that he had no doubt about Mintz's guilt. Then, Mrs. Mintz admitted that she made up the charge because she was angry at her husband for getting in trouble with the law; subsequently, Mintz's attorneys uncovered evidence that the first accuser had told an ex-roommate she had concocted the rape charge in order to sue the county, and that she had tried a similar hoax before. By the time the case collapsed, Mintz had spent five months in jail. N E X T+P A G E+| The "nuts and sluts" defense - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
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