Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org
Bogus Claims Cheat Victims: SAVE Urges Colleges to Hold False Accusers Accountable
WASHINGTON/ October 4, 2012 – Following release of a federal sexual assault mandate, a growing number of college students are being falsely accused and wrongfully expelled on charges of rape. Stop Abusive Violent Environments (SAVE), a victim advocacy organization, is calling on colleges to hold false accusers accountable for their wrong-doing.
At Yale University, University of Connecticut, Xavier University, University of North Dakota, and elsewhere, students have faced false rape charges. In some cases, prosecutors later dismissed the case and even charged the “victim” with perjury. http://www.saveservices.org/
Last week, the University of North Florida reported that the problem of bogus charges has reached the point that campus police now require false accusers to reimburse for investigators’ time. Four wrongful rape accusations have been filed at the Jacksonville, Fla. college in the past year. http://unfspinnaker.com/4-
False sex assault accusations squander scarce police services, cause investigators to treat true victims with suspicion, and ultimately cause future victims not to report crimes for fear they will be doubted, SAVE believes.
A growing number of judges, attorneys, and victim advocates are speaking out on the damage caused by false accusations: http://www.saveservices.org/
“Colleges must hold false accusers accountable for the immense harm they do to victims of sexual assault,” says SAVE spokesman Steve Blake. “As long as the Education Department’s unlawful directive is in place, colleges must discipline the false accusers — or else force victims to suffer in silence.”
The Department of Education’s 2011 Sexual Assault Directive mandates far-reaching changes in how college disciplinary committees adjudicate sexual assault claims.
In a recent analysis, Hans Bader, former attorney at the U.S. Department of Education, charges the federal directive has “undermined due-process safeguards” and that the “attack on cross-examination undermines accuracy in campus disciplinary proceedings.” http://collegeinsurrection.
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org