False Allegations of Sexual Assualt: An Analysis of Ten Years of Reported Cases

Abstract

One of the most controversial disputes affecting the discourse related to violence against
women is the dispute about the frequency of false allegations of sexual assault. In an effort
to add clarity to the discourse, published research on false allegations is critiqued, and the
results of a new study described. All cases (N = 136) of sexual assault reported to a major
Northeastern university over a 10-year period are analyzed to determine the percentage of
false allegations. Of the 136 cases of sexual assault reported over the 10-year period, 8 (5.9%)
are coded as false allegations. These results, taken in the context of an examination of
previous research, indicate that the prevalence of false allegations is between 2% and 10%.

Violence Against Women
16(12) 1318–
1334
© The Author(s) 2010
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DOI: 10.1177/1077801210387747
http://vaw.sagepub.com