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Publish "Victims" Names in Rape Cases?

Should rape "victim's" names ber made public?

  • Yes, all accusers names should be made public.

    Votes: 9 28.1%
  • No, they shouldn't.

    Votes: 23 71.9%

  • Total voters
    32
You make it sound as though each (victim and accused) has equal motivation to lie.

What ever happened to being innocent until proven guilty? I really hope you aren't suggesting we convict people of a first-degree felony based on your subjective interpretation of how much "motivation" the victim had to lie.

There needs to be evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to convict someone, and if that means some rapists go free, that is simply an unfortunate side effect of a just legal system.
 
I haven't read every post in this thread yet, but I'll go ahead and voice my initial opinion.

I'm not so sure that women don't report rape due to 'embarrassment'. I think more often than not it's due to their feeling that THEY are going to be put on trial. They know it's going to be difficult to prove, and it's going to be emotionally difficult for them the duration of the trial. And then what if there wasn't enough evidence? Every woman *knows* how difficult rape is to prove. Every woman *knows* how slim her chances are of a conviction. Many women simply feel... why bother? Why put myself through even more pain only to have said rapist acquited and out on the streets with a vendetta against me? What happens to *my* credibility if and when he's found not-guilty?

I think that publishing her name at the onset would make it less likely that women will come forward. So few do already.

I am in agreement with others though that the accused's name should also be withheld unless he is found to be guilty.

An accusation, false or not, is damaging to a man. He may well be innocent, why tarnish his name unless he is *found* to be guilty?

EDIT:

As for one's 'character' coming into play in the trial... that is, IMO, bullcrap. If there's not enough hard evidence, then there's not enough evidence. But a woman's 'character' (which is purely subjective in itself) should not be an issue. Either the evidence is there, or it's not.

If I was on a jury and there was ONLY his word vs. hers... then I'd have to go not guilty. Because there is reasonable doubt. Whether or not someone thought she was 'slutty' would be entirely irrelevant. (for one thing, I don't think 'sluttiness' has anything to do with character anyway)
 
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

There is no way to initiate the proceeding without making the accused name public record. Constitution requires the accusers name.
 
Scenario, A couple go out on a date........They both get wasted and end back in his apartment and engage in sex..........The next morning the woman wakes up and is embarrassed by the whole thing, calls the police and accuses her date of rape...She tells the police she can't remember anything except waking up in bed with him.........

Question: Is that rape?

It would really depend on the situation. It's not so cut and dry, NP.

Most people have *some* memories of a night, even if they did get so wasted as to not remember certain pieces of it.

If I woke up next to a man and had no memory of consenting to sex with him, I would likely remember *something* about him. Had I been hitting on him? Had he been hitting on me? What was my response to his advances? What *do* I remember about him?

Having been quite an avid drinker myself quite a few years ago, I've found myself in your scenario. I didn't remember going back to his place, I didn't remember having sex (though it was apparent we had). Obviously, I didn't remember consenting to sex. What I did remember, though, was hitting on him at the bar. What I did remember was finding him very attractive. What I did remember was being receptive to his advances in the bar. What I did remember was desiring to go home with him. So in that case, no... I'd have to say it wasn't rape. In my case, my only regret was drinking so much that I didn't remember having sex with the fricken sexy as **** guy laying next to me. ;)

However, if I'd woken up next to a man that I remember distinctly turning down his advances, brushing him off, saying "NO" to him in the bar; A man that I had no attraction to and couldn't remember having any desire whatsoever to have sex with... then I'm likely going to think he either drugged me or took advantage of an the extremely drunken state I was in... or hell, maybe I passed out. I'd question my friends I was with to find out what happened. I would most likely consider myself violated and having been raped. Most likely though, I'm not going to report it since I would most likely have no way of proving I didn't give consent.

Ditto If I woke up next to a man and had NO memory of him at all.
 
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