Burden of proof... sexual assault etc.

michael_3165

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The past two years we have seen a boom in the #MeToo movement with huge numbers of men being 'outed' as molesters, rapists and abusers. Most of these accusations make their way onto social media where it is trial by public opinion. We get whipped up into a frenzy of hand-wringing, calls for resignations and screams about the patriarchy.

Let me start by saying the bleedin' obvious... Sexual Assault and Rape are BAD! Nobody denies this. No sane person would condone sex crimes.

With that out the way [to avoid cyber-crying] I want to find out from you wonderful LPSG'ers what type of burden of proof is required in the countries you live? I am greatly concerned that an accusation immediately means a person is guilty and their name can be dragged through the mud without due process. In the UK it is a little better than in other countries (I assume) because the media has to be VERY careful about making statements about a person's alleged crimes until a court has convicted the person. We have libel and slander laws that make it much easier to gag those who make false claims without something called EVIDENCE!

Ah evidence! Back in the day we used to have to prove claims we made. Simply saying 'I was at this place, at this time, with this person' doesn't make the person guilty of any crime. But since social media has no regulation we now get caught up in a shitstorm of gossip and rumour, often leading to miscarriages of justice all round. This doesn't help victims who are suffering to come forward, it just downplays their distress.

Would it be completely unreasonable to identify those individuals who make claims that are unproven in court? Should there be higher numbers of counter action being taken for unfounded claims by men and women who are unable to provide substantiated evidence?

Again not to down play sexual harassment and abuse, it is hideous and completely unacceptable. But then isn't it unacceptable to destroy lives of people without a shred of evidence?

No flaming please :)
 

Klingsor

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In many cases, the allegations concern events that happened in private years ago. These are notoriously difficult to prove--the infamous "he said, she said."

But in many of those same cases, you have multiple women making similar claims against one man. So even if there's still a dearth of tangible evidence, the accusations taken together become much more persuasive--now it's "he said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said . . ."
 
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TexanStar

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