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Feminists And Men's Rights Activists

Decent Essays

Introduction
The average man may possess everyday fears, such as embarrassment or rejection, while the common woman has to deal with the fear of being sexually assaulted. Sexual assault is any type of unconsented sexual contact, and is most frequently associated with rape. Sexual assault is a particularly sensitive issue between Feminists and Men’s Rights Activists. Feminists believe that victims are disenfranchised in society and the court of law, seen through the invalidation of victims and fear from society’s backlash, as well as authorities’ improper conduct under such cases. Men’s Rights Activists, however, carry the idea that victims are given too much trust in society, as they could make a false accusation of rape and people may believe …show more content…

However, if this belief is examined more carefully within society, one would see that it does not hold much truth, and that in reality, the exact opposite occurs. In our society, false accusations of sexual assault are rare, and the embedded misogyny in our culture is the cause of the marginalization of sexual assault victims.
I. The Occurrence of False Accusations
False accusations of sexual assault has been a concept which has been relied on by society in order to try to argue against victims’ accusations of sexual assault, reducing the little trust which victims have by society in the first place. False accusations only account for “2 percent of felony convictions,” and that is when they are based on the combined data from exonerations in rape and murder cases. Therefore, false accusations of rape account for less than 2 percent of convictions. Based on that, false accusations are very unlikely, and therefore cannot be relied on in attempt to invalidate rape victims. Even if a false accusation is made, it is very improbable to make it very far in the criminal justice system. If …show more content…

Sixteen of these twenty will be prosecuted, but only ten will result in conviction” (Shen). Of all rape reports, only 10 percent end in conviction. Therefore, if a false accusation, which already has a low probability of occurring, is made, it then only has a 10 percent chance of being convicted. This 10 percent chance is likely even lower, as if the case is properly investigated, a false accusation will not end in a conviction. False accusations are not the problem in society, but rather sexual assault. Underreporting, paired with the increase in rape, demonstrates the growing urgency to deal with the problem of sexual assault before it gets out of hand. Although false accusations of rape are without a doubt a problem, they are in no way as big as the growing problem of rape in our society. False accusations should not be society’s main concern, but rather the number of sexual assaults which occur. In the military alone, sexual assault has grown, with “about 3,000 service members reporting being sexually assaulted in 2012, but a confidential Department of Defense survey suggests the figure is closer to 26,000 — up 35 percent over 2010” (Koons). These numbers may even be

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