Why Some Women Lie About Rape

A legal expert’s investigation of why some women falsely claim rape, and the devastating effects on those who have been wrongfully accused.
For each criminal category, a small percentage of claims are proven to be unfounded. Unfortunately, cases of rape are no exception. As a district attorney in New York City, Linda Fairstein encountered these false claims more than a few times. This kind of accusation not only results in the unjust punishment of innocent men, but also serves to trivialize the experiences of rape survivors. In Why Some Women Lie About Rape,Fairstein draws upon her decades of experience to shed light on this difficult issue, including the motivations behind a false rape accusation. Originally published in Cosmopolitan, this essay is now available in digital format for the first time and features a new introduction by the author.
“Fairstein has given those of us concerned with the criminal justice system . . . a history written by the person who made it.” —Gloria Steinem “[Fairstein writes] with the passion of a great prosecutor.” —Diane Sawyer “A famed fixture of the criminal justice system for thirty years.” —Dominick Dunne
Linda Fairstein is one of America’s foremost legal experts on violent crimes against women and children, and a former chief of the Manhattan District Attorney’s pioneering Special Victims Bureau. She developed many of the techniques that have revolutionized the prosecution of sexual predators, including her early introduction of DNA as a forensic tool. Fairstein is also the author of an internationally bestselling series of crime novels featuring her fictional alter ego, Alex Cooper. The fourteenth book in the series, Night Watch, was published in July 2012. Fairstein has been a contributing editor to Cosmopolitan magazine since 2002. Visit her website at www.lindafairstein.com.