The True Victims of False Rape Allegations
The issue of rape is always sensitive and has far-reaching complications that go beyond the victim and the accused. Public perception and reaction is relevant and once the public is involved, naturally, outrage pours out onto the accused and pity accorded to the victim; as it should be. However, the problem lies with the fact that public opinion is easily swayed by emotions and hardly ever by the full circumstances surrounding the event.
This public fury is justifiable for the reason that in many cases, it has been the catalyst for justice. It has helped give voice to several rape victims and justice to many by prompting the necessary authorities to act and even providing assistance where necessary. This was clearly depicted in the case of the 22 year-old Uwaila Omozuwa whose brutal rape and murder in a church caught the public’s eye. Through trending hashtags as #JusticeforUwa and relentless protests on all fronts, the appropriate authorities were forced to take necessary action in the interest of justice.
Nevertheless, the problem clearly facing this mechanism is what happens when the accused is wrongfully alleged to be a rapist. What then happens to the innocent person? — one may wonder. Sadly, this pious system of public rage turns to a despicable monster that growls at the innocent as seen times without number. When this happens, a new victim is created out of the innocent falsely accused of rape. This was the case for Doctor Harvey Funmilayo, a UK-based Nigerian doctor who was at the brink of losing his license to practice and having his name besmirched before he was vindicated by the UK police. Initially, this was not the case; the social media blind to the facts of what occurred took out its full fury on the innocent doctor and believed hook, line and sinker every lie the perpetrator told without first listening to what the man had to say.
How about the unfortunate case of Izu Mmadubueze? He committed suicide after being falsely accused of rape by an unrequited lover who was widely supported by the public; the same public that gave deaf ears to the pleas of innocence of Izu. More recently, is the case of Justin UG. These men just like many others were victimized until their innocence was able to be proved.
The victim is proclaimed guilty until they can prove their innocence.
Inadvertently, through these unfortunate events, another set of silent victims are created in this blind rage. They are the actual rape victims. This waters down their cases; raising higher the bar for them to make cases believable. In effect, some may rather retreat and be discouraged from coming forward with their valid claims for fear of not being believed and labelled a liar. Others that are courageous enough to come forth will find it harder to make a case for themselves because of how trivialised false accusers have made rape seem. This is a counter-intuitive approach to helping rape victims as the unfettered rage of the public does more harm than good in this sense.
Instead, as a society, we need to do better. We need to deal with issues of rape accusations with an open mind and as objectively as possible; we need to put an end to hasty decisions that have far-reaching consequences on people’s lives as seen in the aforementioned cases. To curb this unfortunate series of events, the public has to learn to calmly make informed decisions in each case in view of the full circumstances. Defer making a pronouncement until enough credible facts have been laid down. For clarity sake, this is not to say that rape victims should not be believed; rather, the accused’s side of the story should be heard before being given the full wrath of public fury.
