Why don’t we trust women?

A couple of years ago, my father called me into the living room because he wanted to show me something on the television, writes Louise O’Neill. 

He was watching the news and there was a rather lengthy account of a woman convicted of a false rape claim. “The media is giving this more airtime than they would if she actually hadbeen raped,” he said, shaking his head. “And she’s received a longer sentence than most rapists will ever see.”

I am reminded of that conversation whenever news breaks of sporting professionals being accused of rape, and I am unlucky enough to read the comments sections under the online reports. “It’s just some bunny boiler making a false allegation.” “I refuse to believe that sporting professionals would even think of doing such a thing... we’ve heard similar cases dismissed before, sounds like some woman looking for a large payoff.”