Confronting Myths About Sexual Assault: A Feminist Analysis of the False Report Literature

• Author: Dana A. Weiser
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12235
• Published date: 01 February 2017
• Date: 01 February 2017

D A. W Texas Tech University

Confronting Myths About Sexual Assault:

A Feminist Analysis of the False Report Literature

Inaccurate beliefs that women commonly lie

about sexual assault and target innocent men

are pervasive in the United States, particularly

on college and university campuses. Research

consistently demonstrates that false reports of

sexual assault account for less than 10% of

reported cases and that individuals are unlikely

to be wrongly accused of sexual assault. Thus, to

pursue justice on campuses and beyond, family

scholars must challenge misinformation about

false reports in their teaching and scholarship

to shift the narrative away from these prevalent

and harmful rape myths. Doing so will allow for

a more comprehensive and informed dialogue

about how to address sexual assault on uni-

versity campuses. This article offers a feminist

analysis of the issue, clearly delineates the

denition of a false report, critically reviews the

false report literature, and presents suggestions

for educational efforts by family professionals.

The inaccurate belief that women often lie about

sexual assault and blame innocent men for a

crime they did not commit is a harmful myth

circulating in the wider culture, including on

college campuses. Although empirical evidence

indicates that false reports of sexual assault

account for less than 10% of cases reported

(Ferguson & Malouff, 2016; Lisak, Gardinier,

Department of Human Development & Family Studies,

Texas Tech University, Mailstop 41230, Lubbock, TX

79409-1230 (dana.weiser@ttu.edu).

Key Words: False report, feminism, gender issues, rape,

sexual assault, violence against women.

Nicksa, & Cote, 2010; Lonsway, 2010), there

is a sentiment among some people that fem-

inist advancements with Title IX on univer-

sity campuses have overcorrected the issue to

the point that many innocent college men are

being unfairly persecuted (e.g., Yoffe, 2014).

The rationale underlying concerns about over-

correction dovetails with the inaccurate belief

that false reports are common and that innocent

individuals are therefore frequently accused of

sexual assault. Because these erroneous beliefs

are harmful to the pursuit of justice, it is essen-

tial that we as educators, researchers, and help-

ing professionals confront misconceptions about

false reports.

In this article, I address feminist theoretical

framings and extant social science research on

false reports and highlight why misconceptions

about false reports impede justice on campus

and in the criminal justice system. First, I utilize

a feminist lens to consider why misperceptions

about the rate of false sexual assault reports and

the prevalence of innocent college men being

accused of rape occur, especially among college

students. Second, I delineate the legal denitions

of a false report and offer a critical review of

the false report literature, highlighting impor-

tant methodological considerations of the stud-

ies. Third, I propose several feminist-informed

educational strategies and resources for use with

a variety of audiences, including students, fac-

ulty, university police, and administrators.

C  R M

Rape myths are “attitudes and beliefs that are

generally false but are widely and persistently

46 Family Relations 66 (February 2017): 46–60

DOI:10.1111/fare.12235