Government Petition - false allegations

[Rights Fighter]

Hi all

I've sent a petition to the Goverrnment and it has been approved. This relates to the way cases of allegations of abuse are dealt with. Please could members click on the link and sign the petition and also email the link to everyone they know they think might sign it too.

Many thanks RF


Your petition has been approved by the Number 10 web team, and
is now available on the Number 10 website at the following
address:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Sexualabuse/

Your petition reads:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Deal with the
issue of false allegations of sexual abuse in the following
manner

1. Substitute financial compensation for therapy for genuinely
sexually abused negating primary motive of making false
allegations.

2. Remove cases from conviction target rates.

3. Deter adult false accusers ensure they serve the same time
as their victims did or would have done.

4. False accusers to compensate their victim(s; if funds are
available in other forms pay towards the public purse cost of
prosecution and if applicable, HM Prison Service.

5. Protect anonymity of accused unless convicted. If convicted
and still protesting innocence Press must print this.

6. If a particular date of abuse is specified and the
defendant provides an alibi for that date, the CPS or Police
should not “move the goal posts” to ensure a conviction.

7. If suspect requests lie detector test he should be given
one; if negative should be used at trial. Complainant should
also take the test if the defendant's proves to be negative.
The same applies the other way around.

Thanks for submitting your petition.

-- the ePetitions team

[katie]

Great Idea

I hope lots of people sign this petition before the deadline,

[Rights Fighter]

We've got nowhere nearly enough. Unfortunately.

[webmoo]

I have signed it myself and also 'stuck' this thread to the top of the forum - hopefully more people will see it that way and you will get more people signing up.

Well done and good luck - I hope something good comes of this and it gets noticed by the government.

[katie]

DEADLINE 13th MARCH

Come on people out there sign this petition, deadline 13th MARCH. We know what its like to go through this. If you know anyone whom has had family member go through this please ask them to sign.

[webmoo]

Just noticed I never posted the reply to this - oops!

The government responded on the 21st June 2007.

To read their reply, please go here:
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page12012.asp

What do you think of the response?

[Rights Fighter]

Petition

As usual the government have skirted around the issues raised and given a bog standard reply. Similar petitions have been submitted and the responses are basically the same word for word! It's an entire embarrassment for the Government as it shows that the British Judicial System have got it wrong for too many years. They probably believe it would also probably cost more to the public purse to let all those innocent people out of prison with suitable compensation than it does to fund trials, some of them long, and to pay "compensation" (rewards) to people making false allegations of abuse. Plus the cost of keeping hundreds of innocent people in prison of course.

[Unregistered]

Are you never worried that your actions might make a guilty man go free? If it's hard to prove a man is guilty, it's surely harder to prove a claim was false anyway? What about all the women who have genuine cases and never get a conviction? Isn't your crusade making it look like they're all lying?

[Rights Fighter]

You said:

"Are you never worried that your actions might make a guilty man go free? If it's hard to prove a man is guilty, it's surely harder to prove a claim was false anyway? What about all the women who have genuine cases and never get a conviction? Isn't your crusade making it look like they're all lying?"

None of my actions would allow a guilty man to go free. I work for solicitors and read through the whole of the file and I see (in the event of an appeal application) what the jury did not see or hear. Goal posts are moved in order to allow the prosecution case to revolve around dates and times that have been changed by the complainant once an alibi has been established. Further, I have been given files to review and on occasion once having got stuck into them, I can see that the defendant or appeal applicant is either a "little bit guilty" (done part of it but not all) or completely guilty. Once that happens I send the case papers back to wherever they have come from.

I can't answer for the genuinely abused women (and men, and children) whose cases do not result in a conviction as I don't often work in assisting those people, although I have done in the past.

I am not on a crusade. And no, I am not suggesting for one minute that those who have been assaulted and abused are lying. What I am saying, is that too many cases are being brought out or spite, malice, revenge and/or money (the primary motive) when the person accused is completely innocent.

[Saffron]

Are you never worried that your actions might make a guilty man go free? If it's hard to prove a man is guilty, it's surely harder to prove a claim was false anyway? What about all the women who have genuine cases and never get a conviction? Isn't your crusade making it look like they're all lying?

please don't comment on things you clearly know nothing about. It is not hard to prove a man is guilty of rape, in fact the burden of proof has shifted so far the other way that an accused man now has to prove his innocence. whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?

And I'm afraid it is not true that many genuine rapists are let free. once a case gets to court the odds of a conviction happening are almost 60%. who are the jury more likely to believe - the "victim" hiding behind her screen, or the man in the dock? Most people do not believe a rape allegation could be false, because they would never make a false accusation themselves. therefore jurors will almost certainly believe the victim. and rape is the only crime that does not require corroboration/physical evidence/proof. the complainants word is enough.

the reason the % reported in the press is so much lower (about 6% i believe) is that the majority of rape cases do not get as far as court. the complainant may withdraw her complaint, or the CPS may decide there is insufficient evidence. However, this is changing again, mainly due to the "give it a whirl" attitude of the CPS and the police, because rape is such a political hot potato.

Furthermore, please be advised that Rights Fighter is not on a "crusade". She is an intelligent, educated and very kind lady whose job it is to uncover miscarriages of justice. do a bit of homework next time.

[Unregistered]

Only 12% of cases get to court and research has shown that false accusations are no higher for rape than any other crime.

As a victim of rape who is currently suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts, it angers me that the person who raped me was never caught. Some police officers now think that up to 50% of claims are false, even though research has proven that is untrue.

I feel like both of you, as women are betraying women who have been raped by behaving in this way. Some people have chosen not to believe me and it's because of people like yourselves. Rape tears people apart and the people who rape are perfectly capable of lying. Many wives stick by their husbands when the evidence is overwhelming.

In my case the police believe from profiling that the person who committed it is married. So there is at least one woman in the world fooling herself.

[Unregistered]

"1. Substitute financial compensation for therapy for genuinely
sexually abused negating primary motive of making false
allegations." I had to move house as a result of being raped, as did my friends. It isn't just therapy which is the cost (and therapy at the wrong time can be useless or worse, dangerous).

"2. Remove cases from conviction target rates." So it's ok that rape is the crime with the lowest conviction rate? Should there be no incentive to improve this?

"3. Deter adult false accusers ensure they serve the same time
as their victims did or would have done." Unfortunately, this may deter real rape victims from coming forward. It is one of the most underreported crimes. Do you think women should continue to suffer in silence? The main reason given for not reporting is fear of not being believed. If you add fear of not being believed and being jailed, you're not going to improve things.

"4. False accusers to compensate their victim(s; if funds are
available in other forms pay towards the public purse cost of
prosecution and if applicable, HM Prison Service." The vast majority of rape victims do not receive justice (only 5% of reported rapes) and of those a tiny percent get compensation from their rapist. This should work both ways.

"5. Protect anonymity of accused unless convicted. If convicted
and still protesting innocence Press must print this." Personally the only point I agree with.

"6. If a particular date of abuse is specified and the
defendant provides an alibi for that date, the CPS or Police
should not “move the goal posts” to ensure a conviction." You have to remember some of the claims of false allegation on this site date back years and the claimants were children. Just because dates change irrespective of your preconceptions, they may still be telling the truth.

"7. If suspect requests lie detector test he should be given
one; if negative should be used at trial. Complainant should
also take the test if the defendant's proves to be negative.
The same applies the other way around." Lie detector tests are not infallible. That is why they are inadmissable in any case. I will explain why. Recent research has shown that many people think the victim was at fault even when they have described a situation which would make the man guilty of rape, i.e. the man may think he is telling the truth but actually rape is so widespread, there are a lot of men deluding themselves.

As a rape victim, I find this petition offensive in the extreme and completely anti rape victims. If you find yourself being raped, in fear of your life and having years of mental illness as a result, then, perhaps, I would think you were in a position to pass judgement.

You might not think that you know anyone who has been raped. You do, they just haven't told you.