How would you react if your son was accused of rape?

[feministpride]

As feminists, how do you think you would react if your son was accused of rape and protested his innocence?

Would you believe him and give him your support, believe his accuser, or remain impartial?

[ilythia]

There is no way to answer that question. Depends on your son, his character, the situation, his reaction...all sorts

[StuffingGoldBrass]

It would depend entirely on the circumstances.
(WOnders if there's anyone stupid enough to think they have an absolute answer to this question?)

[wukter]

Or murder or armed robbery or assault.
I'd hope he'd be 'proved innocent' rather than 'not proved guilty'.

[AMumInScotland]

Are you suggesting that feminists as a whole will give a different range of answers to this one than other women? It seems a very strange question - has it been prompted by another thread?

Like the others so far, of course my reaction would depend on the situation. Given my son's character, I would almost certainly believe and support him.

[HecateQueenOfWitches]

I have no idea.

How can you possibly answer that?

It would depend on so many things - if it was likely that he was guilty or if it was just so totally out of character that he would have had to have lost his mind! If there was evidence, the back story between him and the accuser (if there was one).

How can anyone possibly answer such a question?

I wouldn't blindly support him, is all I can say, same as if he was accused of any crime. I would look at the evidence and my opinion of him and the type of person I understood him to be. But nor would I assume that because he had been accused, he must be guilty.

[sethstarkaddersmackerel]

I would say 'The world has gone mad, he's only 4 years old!'

[StuffingGoldBrass]

I think the OP has got all excited over the feminist idea that the vast majority of women who say they have been raped are not, in fact, lying. And is falsely hypothesizing that if we were Twoo Feminithsts we would be morally obliged to spurn or even castrate our own sons should they ever be accused of rape under any circumstances, or we would have to hand back our burnt bras or whatever.

[sethstarkaddersmackerel]

It's an interesting subject for a first post on Mumsnet.

[ilythia]

Ah I see SGB. That makes more sense.

I can one up you seth, seeing as I don't have one

[Chandon]

I would believe my son was innocent, until he was proven guilty.

[sethstarkaddersmackerel]

LOL Ilythia

[StuffingGoldBrass]

I suppose, considering that [insert name of horrible criminal/rapist/murderer of your choice] was somebody's son it's a situation that some women do have to face. But as a general test of morals (would you believe your DS or The Victim?) it's a witless one, because anyone confronted with such a situation would make their decision according to the facts they knew.

[HerBeX]

No no SGB, we'd make our decision according to what mood our hormones were in that day...

[StuffingGoldBrass]

Oh, duh! Forgot those pesky hormonal things . I was almost being rational then, I'd better stop that before I grow bollocks