This Stunning Graphic Reveals The Sad Outcome Of Most Rape Cases In America
The Washington Post's Dylan Matthews posted “The saddest graph you’ll see today,” a graphic from the Enliven Project that provides a shocking overview of our legal system’s failure to identify and jail rapists:
Let’s highlight some of the most troubling statistics from this graphic, which used information from the Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey and FBI reports:
- Only 0.16 percent of rapists are falsely accused;
- More than 90 percent of rapes aren’t reported; and
- Fewer than 1 percent of rapists face jail time as a result of the crime.
Rape was a hot-button political issue in 2012, primarily due to former Senator Todd Akin's inference that a woman couldn't get pregnant in cases of "legitimate rape."
Little of the conversation has involved rape prevention or a discussion on how to strengthen the penal code to provide better legal remedies for victims.
A legal loophole that enabled a California man to get a retrial after he was initially convicted of rape shows that there’s plenty of work to be done.