Podolsky's Concerns False Claims Overblown

To the editors:

I read with piqued interest Zachary S. Podolsky’s “Sexual Assault’s Forgotten Side” (Column, April 17). Considering that the total punishment for the 58 rapes (as extrapolated from the University Health Services (UHS) survey taken in 2002) was a combined one year away from Harvard, I find it hard to believe that students could be reasonably concerned by how the Ad-Board treats the accused.

False accusations of rape are as frequent as false accusations of other crimes and not a special subcategory as Podolsky’s article would seem to indicate. While I completely agree that no person should be falsely accused or convicted of any crime, it is worth noting that only 2-3 percent of all sexual violence claims are actually false.

Unfortunately, to use Podolsky’s phraseology, “all too often” 98 percent of all sexual violence accusations are true and the rights of these violated women and men must be protected in a system that has traditionally favored the accuser and stigmatized sexual violence victims.

Your concern that the rights of the falsely accused does not enter the dialogue about sexual assault is completely unfounded, at least in terms of the Leaning Committee. That voice was mine—before I really learned anything about the issue.

Thank you for demonstrating the need for the increased education about sexual assault proposed by the Leaning Committee, especially with regard to rape myths such as the one you propagated in your article.

Jared M. Slade ’03

April 20, 2003