In Germany, the number of actual or attempted rapes per year is fairly well documented. In 2016, there were nearly 8,000 cases, including around 250 in Saxony-Anhalt. In Saxony, there were only 108. However, the state criminal investigation offices do not record how often potential rapists are falsely accused.
The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA Bayern) wanted to investigate this issue further in 2005 and tracked rape cases that went to court. In response to an inquiry from MDR, the Criminological Research Group at the Bavarian LKA stated: “The only relevant fact we highlight in our report is that, in the course of police investigations into the crime, 7.4 percent of cases resulted in a charge of fabricating a crime; in these cases, it is highly likely that the sexual offense was falsely reported.”
False accusations are rarely punished
These are the clear cases in which a false accusation also led to an indictment. However, this happens only rarely, says defense attorney Alexander Stevens: “Additionally, one must acknowledge that false accusation itself is a very minor offense, carrying no significant prison sentence. As a result, public prosecutors can easily drop such cases. Unlike rape charges, which cannot simply be dismissed.”
Prejudgment and the #MeToo Debate
Alexander Stevens associates this issue with the #MeToo debate. The attorney, who specializes in sexual offense cases, now prefers to defend the accused rather than the alleged victims. Or, as he calls them: “suggestive victims.” He explains: “We are increasingly encountering cases in which women, young girls, approach us and say: ‘Yes, we were raped.’ Of course, we then ask: ‘How did it happen?'”
In some cases, the accusations stem from conversations with friends who suggested that what happened constituted rape. The accusations may be genuinely believed by the alleged victims, even though the events never actually occurred.
In rape cases, trials typically involve one person’s word against another’s. As a result, half of all cases are dismissed due to lack of evidence.
The dark figure of unreported rapes remains high
The debate over false accusations frustrates Teresa Bücker, editor-in-chief of Edition F, an online magazine focusing on feminism and gender issues. She believes that sexual violence is prosecuted far too infrequently: “On the other hand, we must acknowledge that of the rapes occurring in Germany each year, about 80 to 90 percent are never reported. If all these cases were reported, we would be looking at tens of thousands per year.”
These figures align with research from the Bavarian LKA’s criminologists. The conclusion: the 7 percent proven false accusations in Bavaria would shrink to less than 1 percent when considered in the context of the overall number of cases.
