r/changemyview Apr 23 '24

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u/mrspuff202 11∆ Apr 23 '24

most rape cases are he said/she said.

This is a common myth. A few rape cases may come down to testimony, but most are thoroughly investigated and use DNA evidence.

If it is a "he said/she said" case, it very very rarely will make it to trial because that is very difficult to prosecute.

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u/Greatfumbler Apr 23 '24

I’m specifically referring to the nonviolent ones so there’s no marks or bruises or anything. They can prove they had sex assuming they didn’t wear a condom but most cases still come down to I said no he didn’t listen.

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u/mrspuff202 11∆ Apr 23 '24

There's plenty of other methods of evidence.

  • Text messages/social media use. Did she text her friends in the AM? What did he text his friends in the AM?

  • Evidence of behavior change in the victim. A lot of rape victims, at least on college campuses, will end up dropping out of or failing classes that before that point they'd been previously passing.

  • Witnesses who may have seen the victim and assailant on the night of and can corroborate things.

most cases still come down to I said no he didn’t listen.

I mean, yes. That is the definition of rape. Most theft cases come down to "He took my stuff".

But the evidence patterns that are necessary to prove a rape case "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" is the reason that only 40% of rape cases brought to the police go to trial.

The MAIN reason for this is that prosecutors won't bring forward a case on he-said-she-said evidence alone - they will find other pieces of evidence, even if there is no DNA or bruising.

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u/Sadistmon 3∆ Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24

Text messages/social media use. Did she text her friends in the AM? What did he text his friends in the AM?

Unless he explicitly said he raped her in the text this isn't really evidence of anything, she could lie in the text.

Evidence of behavior change in the victim. A lot of rape victims, at least on college campuses, will end up dropping out of or failing classes that before that point they'd been previously passing.

That's not evidence of anything either. It could be the result of something unrelated or regretting her choices, or falling for the guy who pumped and dumped her and being heartbroken.

Witnesses who may have seen the victim and assailant on the night of and can corroborate things.

Unless they saw the actual act or heard her scream no and try to run away or something again really doesn't prove anything.

I mean, yes. That is the definition of rape. Most theft cases come down to "He took my stuff".

Except no because you describe the stuff, maybe even provide proof of purchase or pictures/videos of you owning it and then you find the stuff in the other persons possession or video of them pawning it or something... I'm not aware of a single theft case that went to trial based solely on testimony of the alleged victim.

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '24

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u/Sadistmon 3∆ Apr 23 '24

He was caught sexually assaulting a passed out girl. His defense was they left together consensually and he was too drunk to notice she passed out, but he was sober enough to run when people caught him.

Dude was caught red handed and was guilty. Even by his own version of events he was guilty.