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How Do You Handle This?
#11
RE: How Do You Handle This?
I don't think even a preponderance of evidence is likely to happen in many cases. It's simply one person's word against another, and both have obvious motive to lie. However, "more likely than not" is a pretty scary phrase. What does that actually mean? That the faculty find the girl's tone and body language more believable than the guy's, or vice versa? That we all know "boys will be boys," so he probably did it? That the girl is doing more to draw attention to herself than to take legal action, so she has something to gain from it?
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#12
RE: How Do You Handle This?
(April 25, 2015 at 12:01 am)bennyboy Wrote: ...  It's simply one person's word against another, and both have obvious motive to lie.  ...

If a man is a rapist, his motive to lie about it is obvious.  But what is the "obvious" motive to lie and falsely accuse someone of rape?  It always gives one bad publicity, as there are always people who will look down on her, as either stupid or a liar or damaged goods or some other sort of thing.  Saying "I was raped" always involves undesirable attention, with people forming a bad opinion of the person.

Of course, in a specific instance, someone could have a motive, as, for example, if one hated someone and wanted to get back at that person, but that is not a universal situation, and it is also a way that involves one in getting blowback on oneself, as mentioned above.

"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
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#13
RE: How Do You Handle This?
(April 25, 2015 at 1:01 pm)Pyrrho Wrote: But what is the "obvious" motive to lie and falsely accuse someone of rape?  It always gives one bad publicity, as there are always people who will look down on her, as either stupid or a liar or damaged goods or some other sort of thing.  Saying "I was raped" always involves undesirable attention, with people forming a bad opinion of the person.

Of course, in a specific instance, someone could have a motive, as, for example, if one hated someone and wanted to get back at that person, but that is not a universal situation, and it is also a way that involves one in getting blowback on oneself, as mentioned above.
Well, you've already given a specific motive. In general, the willingness of ANY person to lie is based on spite, revenge, manipulation, self-protection, etc. In the case of sexual assault, in the current social climate, it represents a claim that is likely to be taken more seriously than evidence warrants. Rape claims are taken VERY seriously, and every girl knows it; in this case, the girl clearly expected her claim to be taken more seriously (i.e. to have more consequences for the young man) than it was, and that's why she's putting on a show of dragging around a mattress. Again, whether she is a strong young woman standing up for herself or the world's biggest drama queen is not known to me-- though I suspect the former.

I've personally experienced three sides of the sexual abuse issue. One time, a gang member was roughing up a young girl in an unfinished apartment construction site. I ran in there shitting bricks, but stood up for her, and he let her go instead of bothering with me (it was clear he could have kicked my ass). One time, as a young man, I got stuck outside on a cold night and a jogger invited me back to his place; he started asking me if I ever masturbated, if I wanted to take a shower, etc. It was only because he was fairly small that I was able to get out of there intact-- and I'm positive that guy didn't think he'd done anything wrong. In fact, I can recall at least three times when I was probably in danger of being raped-- how much more so for a young college girl? Finally, I've had had a crazy ex-girlfriend who stayed friends with me for months after I got married and eventually befriended my wife, just for the chance to slander me later. This was a girl who broke up with me, changed her mind, and when I told her "I can't see you. I'm married," decided based on this that I was hinting that she needed to find a way to end the marriage. She never claimed I raped her, but I can say with 100% certainty that if she had thought she could make trouble for me, or for my wife, she would have been willing to make such a claim.
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