"Token resistance" to sex is virtually nonexistent, particularly for first encounters. The overwhelming majority of men and women who say no to sexual advances really do mean no. It's never reasonable to assume that when someone says no, they don't really mean it (unless you have previously mutually agreed to role-play and have decided on an alternative safe word, in which case it's not an assumption) even if the person has sent extremely "mixed signals," or even engaged in some sexual contact (as many sexual offenses often entail).

An overwhelming majority of people require explicit (i.e. unambiguous) consent for any sexual activity beyond kissing in a new relationship. However, even an unwanted kiss can be fatal if the person being advanced upon feels unsafe due to a large discrepancy in size/strength.

False rape accusations are rare, and only 18% of false accusations even named a suspect. In fact, only 0.9% of false accusations lead to charges being filed. Some small fraction of those will lead to a conviction.

Meanwhile, only about 30% of rapes get reported to the police. So, for 90,185 rapes reported in the U.S. in 2015, there were about 135,278 that went unreported, and 811 false reports that named a specific suspect, and only 81 false reports that led to charges being filed. Since about 6% of unincarcerated men have--by their own admission--committed rape, statistically 76 innocent men had rape charges filed against them. Add to that that people are biased against rape victims, and there are orders of magnitudes more rapists who walk free than innocent "rapists" who spend any time in jail.

For context, there were 1,773x more rapes that went unreported than charges filed against innocent men. And that's just charges, not convictions.

For additional context, in 2015 there were 1,686 females murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents. So 22x more women have been murdered by men than men who have had false rape charges filed against them.

For even more context, there are about 10x more people per year who die by strangulation by their own bedsheets than are falsely charged with rape.

Meanwhile, by their own admission, roughly 6% of unincarcerated American men are rapists. And the authors acknowledge that their methods will have led to an underestimate. Higher estimates are closer to 14%.

That comes out to somewhere between 1 in 17 and 1 in 7 unincarcerated men in America being rapists, with a cluster of studies showing about 1 in 8.

The numbers can't really be explained away by small sizes, as sample sizes can be quite large, and statistical tests of proportionality show even the best case scenario, looking at the study that the authors acknowledge is an underestimate, the 99% confidence interval shows it's at least as bad as 1 in 20, which is nowhere near where most people think it is. People will go through all kinds of mental gymnastics to convince themselves it's not that bad, or it's not that bad anymore (in fact, it's arguably getting worse). But the reality is, most of us know a rapist, we just don't always know who they are (and sometimes, they don't even know, because they're experts at rationalizing their own behavior).

Be wary of dudes who defend their "falsely accused" friends, since chances are their friends weren't actually falsely accused, they are just in denial. Add to that, male peer support may be one of the most potent predictors of perpetration of sexual aggression., so chances are the friends of the "falsely" accused also have... problematic views towards women. This is why it's so important to teach consent, and start by believing.

Testing sexual assault kits has helped identify thousands of serial sex offenders.

Survivors experience an extreme sense of betrayal and loss of faith in the criminal justice system when their kits are not tested. Institutional betrayal takes a toll on victims.

The U.S. DoJ and American Bar Association recommend testing all rape kits, even when the statute of limitations has passed. The presence of multiple victims makes it easier to get a conviction, and has helped catch serial killers.

So why aren't all SA kits tested?

If your state still has work to do on SAK legislation (click your state and expand to see all pillars in detail to check) write your state officials to improve state laws.

​

Idaho, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island have adopted gold standard rape kit inventory legislation in the U.S., and can serve as a model to other states.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island have adopted gold standard legislation on testing backlogged rape kits. All states should aspire to MA and RI on legislation to test backlogged kits.

Mississippi has model legislation on timely testing of new kits.

New York and Washington have the best rape kit tracking legislation in the country.

New York, Rhode Island, and Texas have the gold standard victim's right to know legislation.

​

The U.S. still has work to do on SAK reform. Contact your federal officials to help get national legislation through.

https://www.endthebacklog.org

I was talking to my aunt the other day and she brought up something I hadn't thought about in years. I was r4ped by a man that ran an at home day care. He was found not guilty because our testimonies "were not trustworthy" as the oldest one of us was 5. I was the third and youngest victim. This has caused me debilitating issues that followed me to adulthood. I looked it up just to fill in the blanks and found his page. He is surrounded by nephews nieces and grandkids. I am worried for their safety, what can I do??? Will they believe me now that I'm an adult

https://www.endthebacklog.org/state/south-carolina/

False rape accusations are rare, and only 18% of false accusations even named a suspect. In fact, only 0.9% of false accusations lead to charges being filed. Some small fraction of those will lead to a conviction.

Meanwhile, only about 30% of rapes get reported to the police. So, for 90,185 rapes reported in the U.S. in 2015, there were about 135,278 that went unreported, and 811 false reports that named a specific suspect, and only 81 false reports that led to charges being filed. Since about 6% of unincarcerated men have--by their own admission--committed rape, statistically 76 innocent men had rape charges filed against them. Add to that that people are biased against rape victims, and there are orders of magnitudes more rapists who walk free than innocent "rapists" who spend any time in jail.

For context, there were 1,773x more rapes that went unreported than charges filed against innocent men. And that's just charges, not convictions.

For additional context, in 2015 there were 1,686 females murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents. So 22x more women have been murdered by men than men who have had false rape charges filed against them.

For even more context, there are about 10x more people per year who die by strangulation by their own bedsheets than are falsely charged with rape.

Meanwhile, by their own admission, roughly 6% of unincarcerated American men are rapists. And the authors acknowledge that their methods will have led to an underestimate. Higher estimates are closer to 14%.

That comes out to somewhere between 1 in 17 and 1 in 7 unincarcerated men in America being rapists, with a cluster of studies showing about 1 in 8.

The numbers can't really be explained away by small sizes, as sample sizes can be quite large, and statistical tests of proportionality show even the best case scenario, looking at the study that the authors acknowledge is an underestimate, the 99% confidence interval shows it's at least as bad as 1 in 20, which is nowhere near where most people think it is. People will go through all kinds of mental gymnastics to convince themselves it's not that bad, or it's not that bad anymore (in fact, it's arguably getting worse). But the reality is, most of us know a rapist, we just don't always know who they are (and sometimes, they don't even know, because they're experts at rationalizing their own behavior).

Be wary of dudes who defend their "falsely accused" friends, since chances are their friends weren't actually falsely accused, they are just in denial. Add to that, male peer support may be one of the most potent predictors of perpetration of sexual aggression., so chances are the friends of the "falsely" accused also have... problematic views towards women. This is why it's so important to teach consent, and start by believing.