With the recent public backlash aimed at famous persons who have been accused of sexual assault, many positive movements have risen to defend those who have come out. However, some people have taken advantage of this trend for their own selfish purposes. Even though the percentage of people who come out with false sexual assault stories is low, according to recent studies, between three and six percent of all allegations are falsified. These falsified claims harm the credibility of those who have actually gone through that experience, and were brave enough to share it in order to get justice.
Being sexually assaulted in any way or form is traumatizing, and people who have the bravery to stand up to their abusers and speak up about it should be treated with respect and admiration. However, there are people who discredit them by creating false allegations, all because they want to catch the attention of the media. Actor T.J. Miller highlighted this problem when an anonymous woman claimed that he sexually assaulted her. Miller and his wife denied those claims saying,“It is unfortunate that she is choosing this route as it undermines the important movement to make women feel safe coming forward about legitimate claims against real known predators.” The accusers claim hasn’t yet been proven or disproven, but Miller’s defense highlights that those who do falsify allegations leave room for abusers and the public to question the legitimacy of accusations.
These types of allegations have often condemned actual victims and forced others who haven’t spoken up to remain quiet for the rest of their lives. Those abusers, who may be guilty, get out of that situation untouched and free, such as the current controversy surrounding the president of the United States, Donald Trump. So far 19 women have accused Trump of some kind of sexual misconduct, yet he hasn’t been investigated or punished for it. It seems that the egocentrism behind false accusations just for the sake of being famous, can be powerful enough that people who do it may not realize the repercussions their actions could have on other people.
For this reason, it’s very difficult to accuse someone of those types of crimes. People sometimes automatically think that the accuser is lying, particularly when the accusation is aimed at high-profile people like celebrities. A recent example of this involved actress Lena Dunham and “Girls” writer and producer Murray Miller. When actress Aurora Perrineau said that Miller has sexually assaulted her, Dunham took to Twitter to defend Miller. She denied the allegation and claimed that Perrineau was lying. Perrineau replied to that statement saying Dunham was a hypocrite given the fact that Dunham is a big supporter of women speaking out about sexual misconduct of men. As of Jan. 12, Perrineau’s claim hasn’t yet been proven or disproven.
Statements like Dunham’s are responses that friends, family and fans tend to make to defend and protect the accused. They make individuals scared to come out and speak up against them. Now it seems that groups of people need to make claims about a single person so they can be taken seriously. This gets even worse when they claim the wrongdoings of a loved and respected person. People immediately take the person’s word that he or she didn’t do it, and that the accuser is lying. This kind of attitude society has taken towards victims is wrong and negative. We, as a society, should investigate those claims so those that are telling the truth can get justice and those who are lying can be exposed.
