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Being falsely accused of groping is bad; being falsely accused of rape is worse

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“It wasn’t me!” cried the man in the dark blue jacket as he leaped one April morning from a Tokyo train station platform onto the tracks. Outrunning his pursuers, he soon vanished from sight.

It’s been happening a lot lately – five similar episodes in March and April, usually during morning or evening rush hour, leaving passengers sullenly tweeting about the resulting delays. The media promptly dubbed the phenomenon “grope and run,” which is catchy but not necessarily fair. Not everyone accused of groping is guilty. Sometimes a woman is mistaken about who groped her. The acclaimed 2007 film “Sore de mo boku wa yattenai” (“Even so, I didn’t do it”) explored the issue from that angle. Or it may be that the woman wasn’t groped at all and is either a merry prankster, or a shakedown artist, or paranoid. All kinds of people ride trains.

Being groped is a dreadful experience for a woman. Being falsely accused of groping, observes Weekly Playboy (June 12) is a dreadful experience for a man. Once the police get their hands on you, they can keep you in custody for up to 23 days while they investigate. If your innocence is plain, they may let you go. Or they may not. In the film they didn’t. The wheels of justice turn slowly (if at all; Japan’s conviction rate tops 99 percent) while your life descends into nightmare.

But there’s something even worse than being falsely accused of groping, Playboy says. Namely: being falsely accused of rape.

The word “rape” conjures up images of dark alleys and sinister unknown attackers. It’s that too, but more often the victim and perpetrator know each other and the case hinges on just where the line is between force and consent.

Something like this is typical, says Playboy: he and she know each other from work, they get together for dinner one night, one thing leads to another – and the next morning he wakes to find a policeman knocking at his door. “But officer, it was consensual!” “Tell that to the judge. In the meantime, come with me.”

Or this: she has no regrets at first but subsequently finds him growing cold to her, or she learns he has a wife or girlfriend. Enraged, mortified, she charges rape.

Or this (though this is more likely to be exceptional than typical): a woman in her 20s applies for a job as a cabaret hostess. The manager of the establishment, a man in his 40s, takes her to a hotel for “training.” Later she testifies against the manager that she’d been led to believe the work massages, not sex. The more likely explanation – or at least a possible one – is that her mother found out and she charged coercion to save face.

Rape is a serious crime. Conviction can mean three years in prison without parole. And if the conviction is false? The thought is enough to chill a man’s courting ardor. Failing that, Playboy suggests two precautions. One: keep her mail. If she’s on record as welcoming your advances, her case would probably collapse. Two: this is a surveillance society. Security cameras are everywhere. That’s ominous but also comforting. If camera footage shows him and her holding hands on the street, or similar mutual amiability, it would go a long way towards establishing innocence.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

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Cameras on the train please! Women have women only cars on trains for protection, I would feel more comfortable knowing that a camera could prevent false accusations towards innocent men. I'm sure a false accusation has been the cause of someone being injured or even killed. Cameras would be best for everyone.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Wiki: "Weekly Playboy is considered an adult magazine. The target demographic is heterosexual men, and each issue features several nude pictorials of female models."

What a surprise where their sympathies lie.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

And conversely, a magazine with pictures of shirtless hunky men and makeup tips would be full of articles sympathetic for the intended audience.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Waiting for the old "even if the men did do it, those women were just asking for it" excuse.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Waiting for the old "even if the men did do it, those women were just asking for it" excuse.

Studies show that women/girls who appear more shy and dress conservatively are more likely to be targeted by gropers, as they are less likely to create a scene.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

This is true. Unfortunately some women lie about being assaulted in order to squeeze money out the man. Or in some cases willingly drink alcohol and willingly accompany the man to a private place and engage in some sexual activity. Then when she wakes up in the morning and decides it was all a mistake, she screams rape!

Unfortunately for such men that we live in a society where the woman's word, especially in a topic like this, is given precedence over the mans.

0 ( +7 / -7 )

And the numbers of women getting raped is orders of magnitude higher than the numbers of men getting falsely accused. It's funny how many men only really care about the thing they can get in trouble for, not actually actively caring about helping women to not get raped...

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Makes sense to discreetly make an audio recording of any intimate encounters with anyone you just met or who you think is a bit flaky.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The more likely explanation – or at least a possible one – is that her mother found out and she charged coercion to save face.

I've made comments like this referring to women who work in the "entertainment industry", and got so many thumbs-down. Glad to see JT agrees with me.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

 If your innocence is plain, they may let you go. Or they may not. In the film they didn’t.

Yes, but you silly, silly, writer, we don't care about what happens in films. We care about what happens in the real world.

Something like this is typical, says Playboy:

"Typical"? I assume you have the evidence to back up that claim? You don't, do you. Well no matter, no doubt hundreds of redpillers desperate to believe women are out to get them will believe it anyway.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Most police will hold you as a suspect till guilt/innocence is established takes time till a he/she said problem is resolved.

When cops arrive all parties are suspect besides appearances.

Many do fake being a victim/hurt party.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

the numbers of women getting raped is orders of magnitude higher than the numbers of men getting falsely accused. It's funny how many men only really care about the thing they can get in trouble for, not actually actively caring about helping women to not get raped...

I care about women getting raped. It's one of the most demeaning crimes that exist. It must be horrible for women to not only have it happen, but to always be aware that it could, and having that nagging worry in their mind.

I don't see how also being concerned about the other side of the issue - false rapes, takes away from that. On the contrary, false rapes should be just as egregious to women, as it is to men. As long as there are false accusations of rape, the question of whether a rape actually happened will always be there. Any woman who falsely accuses rape causes a hardship for every woman who truthfully reports a rape, and in some causes women to not even report a rape that actually happened.

The idea that concern about false accusations is somehow unjustified because it doesn't happen as much, or that it takes away from the discussion of how to prevent actual rapes, is completely ignorant. By dismissing the issue, and even belittling it as a subject about which to be spoken, you are doing all rape victims a disservice.

No discussion about rape or false rape is complete without discussion on the other issue also included.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Strangerland Today  02:26 pm JST

I don't see how also being concerned about the other side of the issue - false rapes, takes away from that.

Comments like this reveal the extent that anxiety about false rape accusations is a political issue, not a genuine criminal concern. After all, we wouldn't say that a false accusation of theft is "the other side" of theft or a false accusation of assault is "the other side" of assault. By bringing in the notion of "the other side", you reveal that to you this is primarily a concern about who is affected, not what is actually being done.

The idea that concern about false accusations is somehow unjustified because it doesn't happen as much, or that it takes away from the discussion of how to prevent actual rapes, is completely ignorant. 

It is not at all "ignorant" to regard discussions of false rape accusations as taking away from discussions of rape when that is transparently their purpose. And that's the purpose we're seeing revealed in this discussion.

Now not all discussions of false rape accusations are automatically attempts to distract from rape. If the people involved have a fact-based rational argument supported by evidence and not anxiety, then it could even be a productive discussion. But tabloid rags claiming what is "typical" without a shred of evidence to what is actually "typical" and random members of the peanut gallery spouting off in support aren't part of that productive discussion.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Comments like this reveal the extent that anxiety about false rape accusations is a political issue, not a genuine criminal concern. After all, we wouldn't say that a false accusation of theft is "the other side" of theft or a false accusation of assault is "the other side" of assault. By bringing in the notion of "the other side", you reveal that to you this is primarily a concern about who is affected, not what is actually being done.

Someone getting something stolen from them doesn't change their life forever the way rape does. For that matter, getting falsely accused of theft is going to change someone's life in Japan WAY more than having something stolen. If someone gets something stolen from them, that item is gone. If someone gets accused of theft, they will likely lose their job and their career, essentially destroying their lives. So it's not really a comparable crime to deal with.

By bringing in the notion of "the other side", you reveal that to you this is primarily a concern about who is affected, not what is actually being done.

That's pretty ridiculous. I sympathize with all victims, not based only on gender. I've repeatedly stated that rape is heinous, and that it's a horrible thing. What I don't buy into is this concept that because that actual rape happens more to women than false accusations of rape happen to men, that somehow the male victims (those who are falsely accused of rape) somehow don't matter. That's as egregious as saying that women who get raped don't deserve to make charges of rape due to some women having falsely accused of rape. Discounting victims of a crime simply because it doesn't happen as often as another crime, due to them sharing a sex with people who have committed that other crime, is quite disgusting, no matter which side is doing it.

It is not at all "ignorant" to regard discussions of false rape accusations as taking away from discussions of rape when that is transparently their purpose.

The problem here is that you view any instance of bringing up false accusations of rape, as having the intent to take away from discussion of rape. You want some proof in that? I'm not trying to take away from the discussion on rape whatsoever, I've gone out of my way to say it's a horrible thing multiple times in this thread, and indeed, in this very post alone. Yet you've branded my posts as being concerned with men only, and trying to take away from discussion on rape. The proof is in the pudding. The quote above tries to add the disclaimer that it's not ignorant 'when that is transparently their purpose', but for you, the very mention alone makes it 'transparently their purpose', meaning that you are saying it's never ignorant to criticize someone for bringing up the issue of false claims of rape.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

I might add, in a story about false accusation of rape, people are bringing up the crime of actual rape. They are literally doing what they criticize. Whenever someone brings up the issue of false accusations of rape in a story about rape, the cry is that it's trying to detract from the issue, or pretend it doesn't happen, or that a discussion on false accusations of rape isn't appropriate when we're discussing rape.

So here we are in a discussion on false accusation of rape - and people bring up how discussion of this detracts from the issue of actual rape, and talk about how it isn't appropriate to discuss false accusations of rape - in a story about false accusations of rape.

So if it's not appropriate to talk about false accusations of rape in a story about rape, and it's not appropriate to talk about false accusations of rape in a story about false accusations of rape, then I have these two questions:

Where/when is it appropriate to talk about false accusations of rape?

How can you not find your criticism rape in a story about false accusations of rape somewhat hypocritical after criticizing discussion of false accusations of rape in stories about rape?
0 ( +4 / -4 )

I might add, in a story about false accusation of rape

Stranger, as if it's a real article written by a professional journalist working for a respected publication and concerning actual cases, you know with quotes from experts or some data. As it stands, It reads like something a blogger whipped off in a hour based on word on the grapevine, massaged to cater to his readers. IOW, it's a rag people buy for the T&A.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

In the 90's, I worked as a Federal Investigator for the U.S. military. I could quote my two most-memorable false rape accusation cases. One involved a known prostitute in Korea who claimed she was raped by a Marine, because he took his money back after he was finished. The other, a preacher's daughter (I kid you not) who claimed she was raped because a man was seen leaving her place, while her husband was stationed overseas. She didn't want to tell us who it was, because she didn't want him to get into trouble.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

as if it's a real article written by a professional journalist working for a respected publication and concerning actual cases, you know with quotes from experts or some data. As it stands, It reads like something a blogger whipped off in a hour based on word on the grapevine, massaged to cater to his readers. IOW, it's a rag people buy for the T&A.

Sure, it's a rag, no doubt about it. But it's still a discussion on the topic, one that doesn't happen much. Now feel free to discuss the lack of numbers, and the problem with their not very scientific method. That's to be expected, and in fact necessary.

But that's different from trying to shut down discourse on the topic altogether simply because it doesn't happen as much, or because the victim shares a gender with the attacker in other crimes. That does a disservice to all victims, both the victims of false accusations, and the victims of actual rape.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Strangerland June 4  03:37 pm JST

Someone getting something stolen from them doesn't change their life forever the way rape does. 

Citation needed.

What I don't buy into is this concept that because that actual rape happens more to women than false accusations of rape happen to men, that somehow the male victims (those who are falsely accused of rape) somehow don't matter. 

No one ever made that argument. You're attacking strawman arguments and then pretending to be a victim when called on it.

The problem here is that you view any instance of bringing up false accusations of rape, as having the intent to take away from discussion of rape.

What part of "Now not all discussions of false rape accusations are automatically attempts to distract from rape. If the people involved have a fact-based rational argument supported by evidence and not anxiety, then it could even be a productive discussion," did you not understand, exactly?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Citation needed.

I'm not even going to bother to search. But I'll tell you what, go ask any rape victim which felt worse, being raped, or having something stolen from them. Get back to us with their answers.

What I don't buy into is this concept that because that actual rape happens more to women than false accusations of rape happen to men, that somehow the male victims (those who are falsely accused of rape) somehow don't matter. 

No one ever made that argument.

It was made right here:

And the numbers of women getting raped is orders of magnitude higher than the numbers of men getting falsely accused. It's funny how many men only really care about the thing they can get in trouble for, not actually actively caring about helping women to not get raped...

Regarding this:

What part of "Now not all discussions of false rape accusations are automatically attempts to distract from rape. If the people involved have a fact-based rational argument supported by evidence and not anxiety, then it could even be a productive discussion," did you not understand, exactly?

You say that, yet what you say and what you do are opposite. You try to say that some arguments are not attempts to distract from rape. I have not tried to distract from the rape issue one bit in this thread, nor in any other, as I think it's a heinous crime. Yet you say this in regards to the points I've been making:

It is not at all "ignorant" to regard discussions of false rape accusations as taking away from discussions of rape when that is transparently their purpose. And that's the purpose we're seeing revealed in this discussion.

I'm the one in the discussion, the one you were replying to, and your claim is that you're seeing that a purpose of 'taking away from rape' being revealed in this discussion. So while you say that there can be discussion on false accusations of rape, and imply that it could be a productive discussion, when I try to have a productive discussion, not taking anything away from the discussion on rape, you deem my discussion to be 'transparent' in trying to take away from the discussion on rape. If you are to brand any discussion of false accusations of rape as taking away from the discussion of rape, then your hypothetical that some discussions on false accusations could be productive is entirely meaningless, seeing as you identify any discussion of false accusations as taking away from the discussion on rape.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

What a badly written article. This is not journalism, this is something scrawled off by someone who forgot they had a deadline, and didn't have an actual story.

It’s been happening a lot lately

What has? Men running away from accusers has happened; not men falsely accused of sexual assault. No evidence of that.

Not everyone accused of groping is guilty. Sometimes a woman is mistaken about who groped her. The acclaimed 2007 film “Sore de mo boku wa yattenai” (“Even so, I didn’t do it”) explored the issue from that angle. 

Seriously? You cite the film, not the true story it was apparently based on? Why not quote actual facts, not films? How often do these cases of false accusation crop up? Where are the stats? How often are they not guilty? Who was the last man falsely accused, and when did this happen? Women who have been raped are expected to go through the tiniest detail of their attack in order to prove their case, yet cases of men falsely accused are too sensitive to make public, even as A-san, 47 from Saitama?

But there’s something even worse than being falsely accused of groping, Playboy says. Namely: being falsely accused of rape.

Yes, it must be true if you write it down. How often does this happen? And I don't mean the times when a victim is actively discouraged from taking her attacker to court, which is what has often happened. What % of accusations of rape are false? Cite a case.

Something like this is typical, says Playboy:

and the author then makes up three situations. Are they based on anything other than the writer's fantasy? No. Again, no real-life cases, just some kind of hateful cliches about women scorned, regretful, ashamed. None of the situations described in this article is true, or the facts would have been stated, surely.

Playboy suggests two precautions.

Seriously, screw you, Playboy gutter press writer. Yet another article about the dangers of false accusations, without a single shred of factual information, written to stir up men into believing that they can be victimised daily, but without a shred of evidence that false accusation is even slightly approaching becoming a problem.

Let's get some actual journalism. What happened to the five men who ran away? Were they caught? Was any of this followed up, or were they just allowed the keep running?

This is trash.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Men running away from accusers has happened;

That's correct, but:

not men falsely accused of sexual assault.

You can't conclusively know that. We don't know whether they were accurately or falsely accused. All we know is what you said in the first line - that they have been accused.

How often do these cases of false accusation crop up? Where are the stats? How often are they not guilty?

Why does the frequency matter? Is it an issue we can just ignore if it doesn't happen often? Do the victims not deserve justice simply because there are more gropers than false accusations of groping?

the author then makes up three situations. Are they based on anything other than the writer's fantasy? No.

How do you know they aren't real? Sure it's not a well-written scientific article. That's pretty clear. But without evidence that the stories are made up, you cannot conclude that they have definitely been made up. The only possible way one could definitively come to that conclusion is if the person making the conclusion believes that it's impossible for an accusation of rape to ever be false. Is that what you believe? Or are you just using rhetoric in regards to your determination that the stories in the article are false, and do leave open the possibility that some or all of them could theoretically be true? (I'm giving you an out here)

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I don't need you to give me an out. If these imaginary examples were true, they would have been written as such. ie, in the past tense. Basic writing style.

I have been asking one thing, and it seems to me to be quite a simple ask: where is the evidence, even the vaguest description of actual recent cases, (general location, general date of occurence) that false accusation is a growing problem? Apart from the two well-reported cases from c.2006 and 2010.

Since this is such a hot topic, such cases must be being (ugh) written up weekly, if not daily. Since people are so worried about them, there must be a lot of actual cases. I am not denying that nobody can make up an accusation, and there are actual cases of women and girls who have.

However, the only made-up story I can see appears to be this one - that false accusation is an actual problem outside of the gutter press' click-baiting.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I don't need you to give me an out. If these imaginary examples were true, they would have been written as such. ie, in the past tense. Basic writing style.

That's a non-sequitur. There are other reasons it could have been written the way it was other than the one you have claimed is the only possible reason.

Therefore you have concluded that the stories given in the article are false, without any evidence to show they are false.

But let's look at it another way, do you agree that there are true stories of men being falsely accused? Or do you outright deny that it's even a possibility.

I have been asking one thing, and it seems to me to be quite a simple ask: where is the evidence, even the vaguest description of actual recent cases, (general location, general date of occurence) that false accusation is a growing problem? Apart from the two well-reported cases from c.2006 and 2010.

And again I ask, what is the relevance of the frequency to which it happens? Do the victims not matter simply because it doesn't happen that often? Are fears of having one's life ruined through a false accusation not valid if it rarely happens?

I am not denying that nobody can make up an accusation, and there are actual cases of women and girls who have.

Then why do you have a problem with men being concerned about this issue? What specifically is the problem here? You seem to be very angry about this very discussion, why is that?

the only made-up story I can see appears to be this one - that false accusation is an actual problem outside of the gutter press' click-baiting.

But you just agreed it happens in the previous sentence. So you're saying it happens, but that false accusations are not a problem. Why aren't they? Why don't victims of false accusation deserve discussion?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Strangerland (as usual) and Maria, you are just going around in circles. Please do not bicker.

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