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Hi, friends. This is Amy B. Chesler of Season 7 of Something Was Wrong and host of what came next. I'm hosting this special

episode of Broken Cycle Media's series of informational episodes called Data Points. These episodes will

include educational information and support on different topics that are important to our community.

Thank you so much for listening.

In this discussion of false reporting and its detriment on victims in society, we'd like to begin by highlighting how important it is to start by believing. When receiving a report of any

kind, no matter the small statistical possibility of it potentially being false,

receiving that person safely, and with initial openness and understanding, can have a vast impact on a victim's trajectory.

According to the FBI, false reporting, a false allegation crime involves persons reporting a

fabricated offense that has occurred against them to a law enforcement agency. False allegations

can span many crimes, but in this episode, we'll be referring specifically to sexual assault.

Although false reporting of sexual assault does happen and has detrimental repercussions, it's crucial to understand how uncommon it really is.

It is nearly impossible to know the exact amount of false sexual assault reports. However, many studies have

concluded that the rate of false reporting is estimated to be between 2 and 8%. For example, data on

sexual assault cases from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2008 found that 4.5% of the reports were false. Furthermore, the Making a

Difference, or Mad Project, created by end violence against women international, conducted a

multi-site study of eight U.S. communities. The study reviewed data collected by nationwide law enforcement agencies about

all sexual assault reports received within an 18 to 24-month period. Of the 2,059 cases that were

included in the study, 140 or 7% of them, were classified as a false report of sexual assault.

Still, the reported range of 2 to 8% for false sexual assault claims might actually be an

overestimate. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center shares how false reporting data inflates because of law enforcement's negligence to follow recommended guidelines and a, quote, weak understanding of sexual assault, end quote.

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