Premium
Take 3 steps to create a fair process to investigate sexual assault
Author(s) -
Becnel Philip
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
dean and provost
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1943-7587
pISSN - 1527-6562
DOI - 10.1002/dap.30090
Subject(s) - false accusation , sexual assault , sexual misconduct , criminology , psychology , social psychology , suicide prevention , poison control , medicine , medical emergency
In the debate about the prevalence of sexual assaults on college campuses, false accusations are almost invariably dismissed as being so uncommon as to be insignificant. My basis of belief concerning the underestimation of false accusations is admittedly anecdotal, but it is based upon 15 years of investigating sexual assaults (among other things) and encountering firsthand cases in which alleged victims have either recanted or where there was very clear evidence that the accusation was fabricated. It is true that these cases are rare, but they do happen and are devastating to the accused. Therefore, the possibility of false accusations should be explicitly acknowledged when colleges are figuring out ways to address sexual assaults and other sexual misconduct on campuses.