Philip Rumney

False Allegations of Rape

This article considers a range of policy and legal issues associated with false rape allegations. It examines studies on the recording of rape complaints carried out in England, Scotland, the United States and several other countries. It also critically examines the approach of legal scholarship and the UK Parliament to the problem of false rape allegations. Finally, the article considers several proposals for reform within the criminal justice system.

Gay male rape victims: law enforcement, social attitudes and barriers to recognition

This paper examines the experiences of gay male rape victims. It discusses findings from empirical studies of police attitudes along with an increasing number of studies that have examined the experiences of these victims. It also considers social attitudes to this group of victims and the way in which those attitudes impact legal responses to the problem of male rape. Further, this paper identifies three barriers to the recognition of male rape: denial of the problem, hierarchies of suffering, and victim-blaming. Finally, it concludes by considering two possible strategies for improving the treatment of male sexual victimisation within the criminal justice system in England and Wales.

Policing Male Rape and Sexual Assault

This article examines an issue that has been largely ignored in the growing literature on the treatment of sexual offences within the criminal justice system, i.e. the treatment of adult male rape and sexual assault complainants by the police. This analysis is based upon a series of interviews with men who have reported their experiences of rape and sexual assault. It considers issues of victim care and satisfaction with the performance of the police, along with other criminal justice professionals. These experiences are placed in a broader research context that indicates some of the features of mens treatment by the police, along with recurrent themes that are also seen in the treatment of female complainants. Finally, this article critically considers claims that the criminal justices treatment of male and female rape is influenced by gender bias.

‘The Mythology of Male Rape: Social Attitudes and Law Enforcement’

ethinking Rape Law provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of contemporary rape laws, across a range of jurisdictions. In a context in which there has been considerable legal reform of sexual offences, Rethinking Rape Law engages with developments spanning national, regional and international frameworks. It is only when we fully understand the differences between the law of rape in times of war and in times of peace, between common law and continental jurisdictions, between societies in transition and societies long inured to feminist activism, that we are able to understand and evaluate current practices, with a view to change and a better future for victims of sexual crimes. Written by leading authors from across the world, this is the first authoritative text on rape law that crosses jurisdictions, examines its conceptual and theoretical foundations, and sets the law in its policy context. It is destined to become the primary source for scholarly work and debate on sexual offences laws.This chapter discusses findings resulting from focus group research which examined attitudes to male rape.

Attitudes, Rape and Law Reform in South Africa

In the last decade South Africa has undergone an extensive process of sexual offence law reform. This process has attempted, amongst other things, to address deficiencies in the criminal justice response to rape and has also recognised some of the limits to the impact of legal reform. These limits are partly defined by rape supportive attitudes and myths that appear to influence decision-making at all points in the criminal justice process. In South Africa, and many other jurisdictions, evidence suggests that police, prosecutorial and judicial decision-making is influenced, in part, by a range of social attitudes that misconstrue sexual violence, as well as serve to undermine the credibility of complainants. This article examines the impact of myths, social definitions of rape on rape law reform in South Africa and the points at which these reforms are likely to be undermined by social attitudes and what potentially might be done to address this problem.

Purported false allegations of rape, child abuse and non-sexual violence: Nature, characteristics and implications

The subject of false rape allegations is shrouded in anxiety, confusion and misunderstanding. Despite a growing body of quality research, there continue to be significant gaps in our knowledge about the topic, including the phenomenon of false allegations beyond rape and other sexual offences. The purpose of this article is to seek to deepen our understanding by examining a unique data set comprising 701 cases involving individuals who purport to have been the subject of false accusations of rape, child sexual abuse, child abuse/neglect and other forms of wrongdoing. This article aims to provide an insight into the nature and characteristics of these allegations and explore the implications of the data for several research and policy questions. It will also critically examine some of the current literature and scholarly claims in this area, particularly around the prevalence of false allegations and critique claims that discussion of this topic is dangerous and best avoided. Finally, the article sets out a future research agenda in which the complex issues raised by false allegations can be carefully considered, and the scale, impact and pathways to accusation can be better understood.

Rape, Defendant Anonymity and Evidence‐Based Policy Making

In 2010, the Coalition government announced in its Programme for Government, that: ‘We will extend anonymity in rape cases to defendants.’ The question of anonymity for defendants accused of rape and other sexual offences, has been repeatedly raised in parliamentary debates over several decades, and has also received frequent attention in newspapers and, to a lesser extent, in academic and professional literature. The debate includes an array of factual claims and arguments that rest on weak empirical foundations. In November 2010, the Ministry of Justice published a report entitled: Providing Anonymity to those Accused of Rape: An Assessment of Evidence, which was intended to provide an evaluation of evidence that would inform the debate over defendant anonymity. This article critically examines this report and its discussion of key issues such as false rape allegations, and considers whether its conclusions can be relied upon by policy makers.