Over the past century, steps have been taken to help empower women and their place in modern societies. However, women were not given as much importance as was towards the female gender. Via feminism, a purely ideological movement which advocates for the dismantling of gender-based oppression, women have acquired a position equal to men. Feminism, in its core, has fought for reproductive rights and engaged proactively to enable women to be able to talk about their experiences and confess about the perpetrator in specific rape cases.

More and more facilities are being established to guide rape victims, but sadly, only female ones.

         According to a recent study, 1 in 3 men has experienced intimate-partner violence, sexual assault or even rape in their lifetime. The response to these inhumane actions? Taboo, societal misconceptions, stigma or even homophobic comments. Feminist movements, over their efforts to alleviate the chasm between the genders, have constituted men as a gender more susceptible to mistreatment, unfairness and devoid of any aid. The most common impacts reported in a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control were fear, concern for safety and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

         Apart from the absence of assistance, society treats male victims as liars instead of vulnerable individuals. While a female victim is seen as a fighter by the people, the male one is told to “Man Up”. The whole “Man Up” Agenda has resulted in a majority of victims living in secrecy, humiliation and criticized according to some toxic gender standards.

Organizations like the Men’s Movements or the Christian Boys Association have fought to embrace male victims and have gone against some of the current misandrist-backed movements. Although feminism in its traditional values was meant to equalize the gap between genders, in its modern form it has turned somewhat toxic towards the male population. For example, modern feminism followers renounce religion absolutely, as a part of their mission, and treat male individuals as a hateful and disgraceful “species” while committing hate crimes themselves. Based on logic, how can hate and bias be transcended if it is seen as something normal. In contrast to that, the Men’s Movement has explicitly stated support for Pro-Feminist movements.

         Another case where men are treated unfavorably is in instances of false Sexual Assault accusations. Yes, feminism has empowered enough to overcome any obstacles kept them silent but have those steps encouraged women to falsely testify? An accuser may have several motivations to falsely claim they have been raped. There is disagreement on how many different categories these may be put into. Kanin (1994) listed three: revenge, producing an alibi and getting sympathy/attention. Newman (2017) listed four: revenge, producing an alibi, personal gain, and mental illness.

         Researchers Cassia Spohn, Clair White and Katharine Tellis examined data provided by the Los Angeles Police Department in the US from 2008, and found that false reports among rape cases was about 4.5 percent. Upon review of Cassia Spohn's work, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office (LADO), which initially collaborated in the report, concluded "the perspective, conclusions and policy recommendations are inconsistent with American constitutional principles of justice, due process protections and the ethical obligations of prosecutors."

         The Rosewood massacre of 1923 began after a white woman in nearby Sumner claimed that she had been physically assaulted by a black man from Rosewood. Rumors circulated that she was raped and robbed. An angry mob surrounded a house which was filled with black residents and a standoff ensued. The mob killed several people inside the house and two more were killed outside of it. This event attracted additional angry mobs which razed Rosewood to the ground. Black residents fled into the forest, and escaped in cars and on train. At a minimum, eight black people and two white people died, but as many as 150 black residents may have been killed.

At last, as much a right as a woman has to testify and find justice, she has that responsibility to be truthful and frank. The power to hold someone accountable and to name them a “rapist” is of the utmost importance. A life can be ruined, someone’s reputation is at stake and a general statement to those reading this, is: “Never judge someone before justice finds them guilty”.

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