Gentlemen;
With the site preparing to close down, I thought I'd take the opportunity to discuss what makes me skeptical when I hear a woman accuse a man of some form of sexual misconduct. Now, I may ruffle some feathers by saying the following, but I acknowledge it as truth; that sexual misconduct such as harassment, assault and rape exist. I'll even say that more men than women do it. Such crimes are serious and should be punished severely. However, not every woman who accuses a man of such is telling the truth. Because such crimes are serious, and because the consequences are (and should be) serious, the effort to determine if a crime actually occurred should also be serious. This takes me back to the heart of this post. What makes you skeptical when a woman accuses a man of sexual misconduct?
No matter what, I think that the burden of proof needs to be on the accuser, like this little document called The Constitution says. This means that, at the very least, I'm going to have an attitude of “fine, she's accused him, let's see the evidence that she has.” That said, there are five things that crank up my skepticism when such accusations are leveled.
First is when the accuser levels the accusations via social media or some sort of public statement, either instead of or at the same time as going to law enforcement. To me, I see this as more of a publicity stunt than an effort to bring someone to justice.
Second is the demand for non-judicial punishment without (or before) a conviction. Demands that a man be fired from his job, that certain brands cut their endorsements with him, that he be banned from social events, or others. Such demands for punishment without a conviction fly in the face of due process, and as far as I'm concerned, that's an effort to pervert the justice system.
The third is when the accusations come several years after the fact, and the timing is very convenient for either the accuser or the accused. If a woman hasn't had contact with a man for years, then only comes forward when he's being considered for a promotion or other financial windfall makes me suspicious. When a woman hasn't had contact with a man for years, and she's about to release an autobiography or the television show she's starring in is about to be canceled, and she suddenly has to accuse him of criminal misconduct, I have major doubts.
The fourth is when whomever is judging the man tries to silence his ability to present evidence in his own defense. A prime example is the “mattress girl” case from years back. Didn't the college board that met to determine if the young man she accused would be expelled refuse to see texts that he wanted to show them? If I recall the case correctly, she sent these texts to him after the alleged rape, and they went into graphic detail describing the sexual activities that she wanted to perform with him. When a judging body refuses to let the man defend himself, I become suspicious.
The fifth and final item for me is when a woman willingly maintains interactions with the man for years after he supposedly committed a sexual misconduct against her. I'm not talking about cases when a man coerces or forces the interactions; I mean when a woman claims that her boss was committing the actions for years...yet she didn't find another job. I mean when a woman in the entertainment industry keeps going to the same agent that she claims did it, rather than finding a different agent. There are plenty of other examples but the key points to me are that the woman could have easily broke off contact but did not.
So, gentlemen, do you agree with me? Sexual misconduct is serious and not every woman who accuses a man of it is lying. Are there aspects of an accusation that make you more of a skeptic than usual?