(PS1-C74) Public Misperceptions of Sexual Assault Allegations

Title: Public Misperceptions of Sexual Assault Allegations

Sexual assault occurs at high rates such that one in six women and one in 33 men experience attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Of sexual assaults that are reported, it is estimated that approximately 2-10% of allegations false. Little research has been done on public perceptions of false sexual assault allegations, which can be defined as the intentional report of sexual assault by an alleged survivor without the occurrence of an assault. Misperceptions individuals have about false reporting of sexual violence may not only impact the support survivors receive following sexual assault, but also impact jury decision making during trials involving sexual violence. The current study explores public perceptions of rates of false sexual assault allegations compared to false allegations of other crimes (e.g., grand theft auto, burglary). Results were obtained from 125 participants recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants 18 years of age and older of all genders were invited to complete the study.

An independent samples T-test was conducted to examine perceptions of false sexual assault allegation rates compared to false allegation rates of other crimes. Perceptions of false allegations for sexual assault and theft were coequal. Perceptions of rates of false allegations for sexual assault were significantly higher than grand theft auto (p < .001), murder (p < .001), vandalism (p < .01), burglary (p < .01), and arson (p < .05). Exploratory analyses conducted using a factorial ANOVA were conducted to examine the effects of survivor status and gender on perceived rates of false sexual assault allegations. There was a marginally significant difference across females such that female survivors of sexual violence had lower perceived rates of false sexual assault allegations compared to females who had not experienced sexual violence (F(1,121) =3.31, p</em>=.07). Male perceptions of false allegation rates did not differ by victimization status. Additional research will be conducted to examine these perceptions amongst university students. Implications for sexual assault response will be discussed.