Case studies wanted to tell their story...

[SteveA87]

Hi,

My name's Steve Anderson and I'm a freelance journalist an postgraduate journalism student at City University London and want to take on the issue of false rape accusations in an in-depth feature, and am looking to talk to people with first-hand experiences, especially those who went through the courts and were acquitted. I've seen a couple of appeals similar to this one, but I hope that enough people on here are passionate enough about the issue as to want to talk as much as possible.

I would not just be focusing on the details of the accusation, but more thoroughly on the effect such a situation has on people's lives in the longterm.

I'm sure that those of you who have been through such an ordeal want to put it behind you and move on with your lives, and that it is something that is not easy to talk about, but by sharing your stories, I hope it will make people more aware of the problem, and hopefully bring a change to people's behaviour.

If you spoke to me, anonymity would be assured if wished, and I am determined that the feature will approach the issue with the utmost sensitivity and respect.

As I said, I am freelance, but currently I'm doing some work with the Independent, and have contacts at the Mail on Sunday as well (although please do not judge me on the publications I have written for, as a freelancer I will only pitch a feature to the most appropriate paper/ magazine). The feature would also form a substantial part of my MA course. To assure my credibility, you can check my Journalisted page at www.journalisted.co.uk/steve-anderson and I can be contacted on my official Independent email s.anderson@independent.co.uk or on my work phone 0207 005 2318 (Mon-Fri 10am-5.30pm).

I do hope some of you would like to speak with me and give a voice to all those people currently suffering in silence.

For those who don't, I wish you all the best in the future.

For anyone else reading (friends/ relatives/ partners) I would also like to hear from you to hear how it affects relationships etc.

Best wishes,

Steve

(as a new member, I am unable to send/receive DMs yet, but feel free to get in touch via the contacts below)

Email (personal): stephenandersonmedia@gmail.com
Email (work): s.anderson@independent.co.uk
Phone (work): 0207 005 2318
Mobile number given by request.

[Rights Fighter]

Steve you really do not have to post this up in every single thread - that's what you seem to be doing.

This forum is for people who need help and while it is ok for you to offer to highlight the plight of the falsely accused I don't think there is a need to post up absolutely everywhere. We get the message. We've all seen you. If people want to contact you they will. If they don't, then they won't.

[SteveA87]

Apologies, Rights Fighter, I just wanted to make sure my appeal was seen. I appreciate the purpose of the forum is to support people, and am sorry if my posts were somewhat intruding or voyeuristic.

Would still love to hear from people though.

Regards.

[Saffron]

Hi Steve
I'm sure no offence was taken!
People who have been through the nightmare of a false allegation are often a little reluctant to talk about their experiences. Their ability to trust has been destroyed and they are frightened that others may have ulterior motives, however genuine they may seem.
I hope that one of our members will talk to you and I applaud you for trying to highlight the ordeal of those who have been falsely accused.

[Rights Fighter]

Saffron

He was posting up on members' threads all over the place. People just don't need to be pestered on a personal level - he had already posted up elsewhere. People can already see those messages and to have exactly the same thing on people's personal threads smacks of overkill, in my view. If they want to help him out then they have the choice from his own starter threads. I can't see members would need to be bombarded, as it were, on all fronts.

[Saffron]

I don't think he was pestering anyone...no-one has to respond if they don't want to and I haven't yet received any complaints. The duplicate posts have been removed.
If one is not familiar with the way these forums work and wanted to get a message across, the logical thing to do is to try to ensure that as many people as possible see your post. A few members have said that they would relish the opportunity to "tell their story" so I would hope that they have responded to him. I am not privy to PMs between members, nor can I see emailed exchanges, so I don't know whether they have or not. However, no-one has made a complaint.

Personally I think that if a journalist is willing to talk to our members and write a genuinely unbiased account of the impact a False Allegation has, then we should welcome him/her.

[felix]

Just for the record, have been in touch with Steve who is delightful and we hope to chat by phone soon.

[Saffron]

That's great Felix. I hoped you might contact him, as I know you were keen to get the issue of FAs into the public domain.