Results

Detailed Findings

In 2011 Stop Abusive and Violent Environments conducted the first-ever national surveys of false allegations of abuse. The surveys defined “abuse” to include child abuse, domestic violence, or sexual abuse. The surveys were conducted in two rounds in May and September, with 10,000 households contacted in each round.

These are the detailed results:

Percent Responding “Yes” Question May Survey Sept. Survey Average 1. Have you ever heard of anyone falsely accused of abuse? 48.4% 43.6% 46.0% 2. Has anyone you know ever been falsely accused of abuse? 15.5% 18.0% 16.8% 3. Was this person falsely accused of child abuse? 74.0% 57.6% 65.8% 4. Was this person falsely accused of domestic violence? 28.9% 37.5% 33.2% 5. Was this person falsely accused of sexual abuse? 48.5% 28.9% 38.7% 6. Was the person falsely accused of another form of abuse? 4.9% 19.4% 12.2% 7. Was this person falsely accused in the last year? 17.7% 16.3% 17.0% 8. Was the falsely accused person a male? 81.0% 72.8% 76.9% 9. Was the accuser a female? 69.9% 66.9% 68.4% 10. Was the accusation made as part of a child custody dispute? 25.8% 29.2% 27.5% 11. Have you been falsely accused? 11.0% 8.3% 9.7%

Due to the survey’s reliance on voter registration records and its response rate, it is necessary to exercise caution in generalizing the survey findings to the national population. The survey methods are described here: http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/survey/methods