Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
|
Over the past
decade, when dealing with rape complaints it has become police policy to
treat all cases as genuine. Police are
instructed not to be sceptical, they should believe the complainant and not
challenge her evidence by trying to find inconsistencies or gaps in it,
because querying what she says may be psychologically damaging to her. Police are
taught that their role is to support the complainant (called the victim, not
the complainant or alleged victim, even when the initial complaint is being
discussed). Cosa (Casualties of Sexual Allegations) daily sees the price of such a
policy -- men falsely accused, charged and sometimes convicted of sexual
crimes in the absence of any police scepticism or objective investigation
into the allegations. A practice of
implicitly believing the victim means an effective presumption of guilt. The
stories of Nick Wills, Alan Collier and Alan Rush (The Dominion, February 6
and 7) exemplify the suffering and destruction wreaked in the lives of
hundreds of Men and women
have equal capacity for both good and evil. Some men rape, but some women cry
rape when it has not happened. Deliberate false allegations are sometimes
made for revenge or for monetary gain. Some teenagers
knowingly make false allegations to "get back at" overly strict
parents or those who have scorned their sexual advances. Most false
allegations, however, are not intentional lies, but result from women and
children wrongly coming to believe that they have been victims of sexual
attacks. Rape
allegations should always be taken seriously. All complaints should be
treated with compassion and respect. All those accused should be treated in
the same manner. The police
should be sceptical: they should neither believe nor disbelieve the
complainant but ask "What is the evidence?" and conduct an
impartial investigation. |