Well, so far we've had most of the usual misunderstandings:
? The law says a man must be arrested if accused of rape - False. Police dismiss about a third of complaints without even recording them. A high proportion of the rest are abandoned for one reason or another.
? As soon as a man's accused, everyone brands him a rapist - False. If this was the case, we wouldn't need a "We Believe You" campaign, would we? Truth is: as soon as a man's accused, everyone brands his accuser a liar.
? Loads of people know a man whose life was utterly destroyed by a false accusation - Unlikely. Of the cases that are investigated, less than 3% are labelled false accusations. Not all of those, by any means, will destroy the accused's life. So how come the very, very few that do suffer all have pals on Mumsnet?
? Being accused of a sex crime means instant dismissal for men in teaching/social work/etc - False.
? Being accused of a sex crime means the teacher/social worker/etc won't be able to get another job, even if found not guilty - False.
? Social Services can treat an accused person as if they were an offender, even if found not guilty - True. If SS has strong reasons to suspect abuse, they're obliged to protect vulnerable people from them. Even here, as we know, they tend to be too lenient with some infamous results.
? Women and children habitually claim sexual abuse to get their own back - False. It probably happens regularly, but remember the 62,000 claims that are not recorded as crimes and the 12,760 that never get to court.
:) I'm fed up with this now, and haven't even got halfway through the list!
www.mumsnet.com/campaigns/we-believe-you-campaign-rape-myths-busted