In the wake of a false sexual assault allegation on campus, Story County and ISU outreach coordinators hope women won’t be more reluctant to report sexual assault.

A female ISU sophomore initially told Department of Public Safety officials she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted last week, but the woman later admitted her claim was false after questioning by DPS officials.

A societal doubt still clouds public perception about sexual assault – namely, whether the victim’s claim is true, said Julie Harders, coordinator of the Sexual Assault Response Team.

“There’s a stereotype or myth that sexual assault is more often falsely reported than other crimes,” Harders said. “Situations like that will feed into that myth, but in reality, it’s no more often falsely reported than other crimes.”

Because of the social stigma, sexual assault already is under-reported, Harders said. She estimated that one out of 10 sexual assault victims reports the crime.

If a woman admits her claim was untrue, victims may be more reluctant to report an assault, she said.

“Sexual assault victims have a fear that they won’t be believed, and this certainly doesn’t help put away those fears,” Harders said. “The crime of sexual assault is still viewed by society as somehow the fault of the victim. You just don’t see that with robberies or other assaults. And we’re working to change that.”

Public perception about the legitimacy of sexual-assault claims may be fueled by the media, said Julie Wooden, director of sexual assault services at ACCESS, Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support.

“A lot of times in the media, it’s the false allegations that get a lot of press,” she said. “We’re not hearing on a daily basis about the other reports.”

Harders and Wooden said there is no suspicion or interrogation in the Story County support web for sexual assault victims.

“The process that is set up in Story County is very survivor-centered, taking cues from the survivors to respect their wishes of what they want to see happen,” Wooden said. “I think the important thing is that survivors of sexual assault know that the support people do believe them and will fully investigate a report.”

It is impossible to speculate what could drive a person to file a false sexual assault report, said Dr. Terry Mason, director of the ISU Student Counseling Services.

“It could be such a wide variety of things, we wouldn’t know unless we sat down and talked with her,” Mason said.

“Certainly, we’re not the only source,” he said. “I guess it depends on how much it’s impacting the student,” Mason said.

“If they’re depressed or perhaps suicidal, we really want those students to come and talk to a professional before doing anything drastic.”