Richmond Girl Recants Rape

As some of you may have heard, the young woman who told police that she had been held against her will and raped in Richmond, California has recanted her story. She has told police she had consensual sex and needed an excuse as to why she had been out that night. Police are still investigating what happened, and other reports have said that they are checking on the young girls mental state. The unfortunate thing is that this teenager felt the need to tell a very serious lie. Given that another girl was brutally gang raped just a few months back in the same city, and that story received national attention, it makes one wonder why she would make up a story like this. Now we ask, is there other issues she is dealing with, such as emotional or mental problems that need to be addressed? Was she just being a silly teenager, who was really just needing an excuse because she is underage and was out with a boyfriend? Is she trying to cover up a real rape because she has been threatened? Regardless of her reasons, it is good to hear that she wasn't assaulted, but lying about the circumstances is unfortunate. Some of the biggest obstacles rape victims face is having others, including law enforcement, believe their story. To have someone make up a story, most likely to stay out of trouble, just to lie about it, does not help this cause. It's something we've all heard over the years, something that PAVE and so many other organizations try to change...the misconceptions and prejudice...."What if she (or he) is lying?". Stories like this can put these very thoughts into the minds of the people we are trying to educate about sexual assault. The first thing we are supposed to remember is that we must always believe the victim. Without support from family, friends, law enforcement, and the rest of the public, victims of sexual violence will continue to hesitate to come forward. They need our strength, our support and our help. We cannot allow these stories of false reporting discourage those who have been violated.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7224013