In this particular case, Marie is sexually assaulted by Mark O’Leary; the credibility of the victim's claims is doubted by the officers, the detectives in charge of the investigation, and her foster parents (Armstrong and Miller, 2015). The myth involves fear of false rape accusations in courts. Despite tireless efforts by Detective Galbraith and Hendershot to arrest the criminal, the myth had perverted the cause of justice in the case as well as emotionally and mentally stressing Marie (Armstrong and Miller, 2015). Had the investigations by the team of detectives not succeeded, then the myth of fear of false rape accusations would have led Marie to replace her earlier statement indicating she was raped with the statement that she dreamt about the incident. The change in her statement was a result of pressure from the skeptics about inconsistencies in her statements and her lack of emotion about her ordeal (Armstrong and Miller, 2015). Therefore, the myth associated with sexual assault may lead to emotional/mental stress for the victims, wrongly accusation of the victims, and failure of arresting perpetrators.
The criminal justice personnel should receive additional training about sexual assault victims to ensure professionals are equipped to recognize and respond in cases that don't fit society's narrative of what sexual assault victims should look/act like (McKee et al., 2020). It is also crucial for investigators to develop a concrete proof of falsified reports about rape cases before disregarding the cases (McKee et al., 2020). A procedure of reviewing disregarded sexual assault cases on grounds of false claims should be developed to ensure all rape criminals are apprehended. Criminal justice systems should also pay more attention to such cases and communicate more often with other police departments involved in the cases; this will significantly increase the possibilities of arresting serial offenders.
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References
Armstrong, K., & Miller, C. (2015). AN Unbelievable Story of Rape. The Marshall Project .
McKee, Z., Mueller-Johnson, K., & Strang, H. (2020). Impact of a Training Programme on Police Attitudes Towards Victims of Rape: a Randomised Controlled Trial. Cambridge Journal Of Evidence-Based Policing , 4 (1-2), 39-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41887-020-00044-1
