By Jos Truitt • @jostruitt • 12 years ago

Graph of the day: why do we keep hearing about the threat of false rape accusations?

This graph, put together by the Enliven Project using Department of Justice  and FBI data, is super depressing. But it puts in stark visuals something a lot of us know: it’s way more likely for a rapist to walk free than for the rape to be reported or for someone to be falsely accused of rape. So can we stop with media and MRA obsessions over the drummed up threat of fake rape accusations? Can folks please stop assuming everyone who actually speaks up  is lying when real rapists are getting away with it all the time?

Infographic showing number of rapists, reported rapists, those who face trial, those jailed, and those falsely accused

Via the Washington Post.

Update: Amanda Marcotte fact checks the graph, which has some issues with how it interprets the data.

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

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