That someone at the BBC has an axe to grind, is the only conclusion I could draw from its coverage of the latest report from the CPS about false rape allegations.
The Press Release from the CPS is here: http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/under_the_spotlight/
It basically emphasises the fact that contrary to popular myth, false allegations of rape are really very rare indeed.
And what did the BBC run with? This: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/21016808
A report which emphasises how awful it is to be falsely accused of rape.
Now I have no doubt that it is awful to be falsely accused of rape. No worse than actually being raped of course, but the BBC isn't as bothered about that.
What I can't understand, is why the BBC decided to take the CPS report, which is very clear that one of the major reasons rape victims don't get justice, is precisely because of this widespread belief that false allegations are a serious problem and run with propagating the very thing the CPS identifies as a problem: the idea that rape myths are a major issue when it comes to rape and a serious problem in terms of proportion.
It is either a case of very stupid journalists, who even when presented with a report that says the opposite of what they expect it to, still run with their prejudices, or it is a case of someone at the BBC having a bloody big axe to grind.
The End Violence Against Women Coalition have complained about the coverage. A link to their complaint is here: http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/news/86/womens-groups-complain-to-bbc-over-its-coverage-of-cps-false-allegations-report
The BBC's response is pathetic and is given at the bottom of the EVAW page.
Meanwhile women continue to get raped or sexually assaulted at the rate of 1 in 4, 85-90% of us don't report rape and of those who do, only 6% see their rapist found guilty. The CPS latest research shows that the rate of false allegation is even lower than we used to think it was when we thought it was only about 3-4%. But the BBC uses licence-fee payer's money, to focus on false allegations, the very prioritisation of which, contributes to the culture in which rape victims feel they can't report.
Why would that be?
I'll leave you to speculate, as I am doing.
News flash for the misogynists and male rape apologists working at the BBC - in the year 2012 males raped/sexually assaulted over 800,000 women who live in the UK. Number of males convicted of rape was just a paltry 1,070 male sexual predators! Yes, just 1,070 male sexual predators were convicted of rape and this includes males who rape other males.
ReplyDeleteBut BBC isn't concerned that male sexual violence against women is pandemic - instead it constantly whines that women are constantly charging a male/males with having raped them. Oh the horrors - all these innocent males being falsely accused of rape and having their lives destroyed. Really? I don't think so because as usual BBC is engaging in patriarchal reversal - because it is women and girls who are struggling to deal with the aftermath of males enacting their male pseudo sex right to females. It is women and girls who are being demonised by men and their female rape apologist allies because men are now supposedly the 'real victims' not the women and girl survivors of male pandemic sexual violence continuing to be committed against them. Rape is the easiest crime for males to commit because they will be very unlucky if they are prosecuted and convicted of this crime against women and girls.
Perhaps BBC should engage in reverse racism claims since white male supremacists are the real victims are they not? Whilst non-white women and men are engaging in 'playing the victim card' by falsely accusing white males of racism.
But in reality the reason why BBC is continuing to promote rape apologism and lies that men falsely charged with rape are supposedly having their lives destroyed (and yes moon is made of green cheese because I say so) is because male pseudo sex right to females is sacrosanct and men must never, ever be held accountable for their sexual attitudes and belief in their right to have sexual access to any woman or girl. Typical male supremacist behaviour because maintaining the lie that male sexual predators are the real innocent victims ensures the focus continues to be on men and their pseudo male sex right to females whilst the real issue is sidelined/invisibilised.
BBC is misogynistic and engages in women-hating propaganda.
Jennifer I completely agree. The appalingly low conviction rates put victims off reporting rapes, and now the pandemic accusations that victims are making it up only add to this. Whilst it may seem that the police are listening-for example my local force in Staffordshire has received hundreds of complaints, many historic and involing families, and has set up a special unit and put out an appeal to victims to come forward-it is the general public who seem to relish the idea that these 'accusations' are false. You only have to read the comments under Yahoo news articles to see this (but fortunately more people like ourselves are writing comments in suppport of the victim than they used to; I have to find positives somewhere!). And lets face it, it's joe public who's on the jury, and precisely the reason why I'm too scared to report how I was raped 13 years ago when I was 17.
DeleteHere's the link to the latest statistics on pandemic male sexual violence being committed every hour every day!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/100000-assaults-1000-rapists-sentenced-shockingly-low-conviction-rates-revealed-8446058.html
That's so shocking when you see it in black and white.
DeleteI hadn't read the BBC's response before. It's so stunningly arrogant and dismissive. Wouldn't it be reasonable to expect that the BBC would be grateful for constructive criticism from the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Rape Crisis England & Wales, Eaves, Equality Now and Object? Perhaps only if it was believable that the BBC cared about survivors of rape...
ReplyDeleteThe whole response is dreadful. There were a couple of bits of language that seem to indicate that the BBC is quite intent on digging itself a deeper hole:
1. "which set out to establish how *common* such false rape allegations were" - there's that word 'common' again
2. "for people who *believe they may* have been the victim of rape or domestic violence" - immediately casting doubt on the credibility of any reports
And then the final flourish of "I’m sure you appreciate the BBC is here to report both sides of a story." Personally, I would think that the BBC is here to report stories fairly and accurately. If both sides of a story merit equal attention, then fine, but the BBC has such a warped sense of what constitutes 'balance'. It seems that, even when one side is widely supported and rigorously well-evidenced, and the other is mythical bullshit, the BBC feels that it must give both sides equal weight and respect.