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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse in NZ |
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Police say two false
complaints from women aged 18 and 19 in Hamilton over the weekend used
significant resources as they tried to find the alleged offenders. The investigators say
they believe three or four out of every five rape complaints are false. Detective Sergeant
Nigel Keall says they will charge the women if the
reason behind the complaints is found to be malicious. He says false rape complaints
divert valuable resources from other serious inquiries. But organisations which
help rape victims say the claim by senior police investigators about the
honesty of rape complainants is simply untrue. Jane McDonald from
Doctors for Sexual Abuse Care estimates that only one in 20 women they
examine have made false complaints. And the manager of the
Wellington Sexual Abuse Help Foundation, Helen Sullivan, says they deal with
a very small number of false complaints. She says it's possible that women who
withdraw their complaints for various reasons may be included in the senior
investigators' claim. Police National
Headquarters says figures on false rape complaints aren't recorded unless the
person is prosecuted. |
