A movement started to protect women from sexual harassment has turned into an all-out war on men.
I was inspired by the #metoo movement. When I started writing this book, it was still a very recent phenomenon. I wanted to write about something that had happened to some men close to me and make it into a story that would be read by others.
I was so inspired by the women who came out as victims of sexual abuse or harassment, and how brave they were to share their stories with the world. But there are many people who don't want to come forward because they feel like they won't be believed or that they will be blamed for what happened to them. There are also many people who are afraid of losing their jobs and losing their reputation if they speak up against someone who is powerful in their industry.
There have been so many innocent people who have been falsely accused or have had their lives ruined because of false accusations in recent years —
With all these cases coming up, I wanted to write about what would happen if someone were falsely accused of sexual assault — not only from a legal standpoint but from an emotional one as well."
Movements like the #metoo movement starts from a good place, yet like anything else it gives predators room to take out their hate on the innocent.
Steve in If the Seas Catch Fire and how it connects to the #metoo movement and the witch hunt that created.
Steve Martin is the main character in If the Seas Catch Fire
Book 3 of The Fire Series
In the book he is framed by having a woman fall into him and when he tries to keep her from falling he accidentally places his hands in a delicate location. Even though he immediately lifts his hands and apologizes, the video of the event goes viral on social media. The communicative back lash and false allegations from an enemy wreck his reputation and cost him his band and journalist jobs.
I believe in what the #metoo movement started as a way for women to not feel alone and to get the word out about sexual harassments and assault out in a way that had impact. My fear is when a movement like this becomes weaponized by politics and individuals against the innocent.
Unfounded reports are cases that are investigated and found to be false.
False report: is a reported crime to a law enforcement agency that an investigation factually proves never occurred.
Baseless report: is one in which it is determined that the incident does not meet the elements of the crime, but is presumed truthful.
Research by (Archambault, n.d.) showed that between 2 to 10% are false reported sexual assaults.
A multi-site study of eight U.S. communities including 2,059 cases of sexual assault found a 7.1 percent rate of false reports (Lonsway, Archambault, & Lisak, 2009).
A study of 136 sexual assault cases in Boston from 1998-2007 found a 5.9 percent rate of false reports (Lisak et al., 2010).
Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, researchers studied 812 reports of sexual assault from 2000-2003 and found a 2.1 percent rate of false reports (Heenan & Murray 2006).
Some of these numbers are related to:
Insufficient evidence to prosecute
Delayed reporting
Victims not cooperating with investigators
Inconsistencies in victim statements
In the alpha read for this book one of my readers said “the issue of a character's accusations against Steve were just dropped with "there's nothing we can do about her." I would like to see that expanded and tackled. If she is known to be a psycho ex-girlfriend then wouldn't Celeste use that information to target her credibility?” So I’m happy to see my readers wanted some retribution on a character who falsely accused my main character of sexual assault.
I know that this topic can be a bit triggering for some. I too am part of the #metoo movement but I do believe that some people will use a movement like this as a weapon. I’m glad to see that the percentage is low. As an author I’m fascinated by the side story of the impact of an event on the people around a single event. I wanted to tackle telling a story where a character is attacked through his reputation to discredit his integrity.
Most Americans believe that the small amount of false reports are worth the sacrifice to the movement. I agree that the numbers of false reports are small. I wanted to explore a movement being used as a weapon and how that can impact someone's life.
Look for more updates on If the Seas Catch Fire through the end of the year as I work with my developmental editor on the manuscript.
Knox by Kate Oliver https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61031796-knox you can follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading and more https://www.goodreads.com/scrowauthor
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Archambault, J. (n.d.). Unfounded cases and false reports: A complex problem [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault: http://www.iowacasa.org/UserDocs/A3,_A4_ Archambault_FALSE_REPORTS.pdf
Lonsway, K. A., Archambault, J., & Lisak, D. (2009). False reports: Moving beyond the issue to successfully investigate and prosecute non-stranger sexual assault. The Voice, 3(1), 1-11. Retrieved from the National District Attorneys Association: http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/the_voice_vol_3_no_1_2009.pdf
Lisak, D., Gardinier, L., Nicksa, S. C., & Cote, A. M. (2010). False allegations of sexual assault: An analysis of ten years of reported cases. Violence Against Women, 16, 1318-1334. doi:10.1177/1077801210387747
Heenan, M., & Murray, S. (2006). Study of reported rapes in Victoria 2000-2003: Summary research report. Retrieved from the State of Victoria (Australia), Victoria Police: http://www.police.vic.gov.au/retrievemedia.asp?Media_ID=19462