Studying, graduating, finding a job, putting in the long hours, climbing the corporate ladder… it’s all just too hard. Not to mention bloody time consuming.

So what’s a girl to do when those credit card bills prove stubbornly resistant to paying themselves? Simple! Accuse a famous man of raping her.

The suspicion that behind every high-profile rape case is a gold-digger peddling far-fetched tales of being violated is both a long and prevailing one.

As public reaction to allegations involving Mike Tyson, Bill Cosby and Woody Allen has shown time and again, there remains a sizeable proportion of the community quick to sympathise with the famous alleged offender rather than his not-so-famous alleged victim.

Accusations Inc.

While the popular assumption is invariably that these men are beyond reproach — even when court-tendered evidence suggests otherwise — the women who have dared to speak out are openly vilified.

Liar! Tramp! Publicity seeker! Woman scorned!

Strange how those so eager to defend an accused man’s right to the presumption of innocence are the very same determined to ignore a victim’s right to also be presumed innocent.

Where’s the benefit of the doubt in speculating about a woman’s apparently self-serving motivation in reporting a crime? Or spreading rumours that she has snared her prey in a politically motivated “honey trap” as happened when then IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused of raping a hotel maid in New York.

And where exactly is the proof that any, much less all, of these women who come forward with sexual assault claims are fuelled by greed and not by the truth? Apart from a few characteristically paranoid examples circulated by men’s rights activists, there is of course scant evidence to be found.

media_camera There is a lot of sympathy for the famous alleged offender rather than his not-so-famous alleged victim. (Pic: Accusations Inc.)

And yet the myth persists that accusing a well-known man of rape is a foolproof get-rich scheme for a woman in possession of an overactive imagination and a weakness for expensive home furnishings.

It is this absurd but lingering stereotype that American comedian Sara Schaefer parodies in a faux television expose, Accusations Inc, in which a po-faced Schaefer explores whether a “rape to riches” trajectory might prove the most lucrative career template for an ambitious young woman.

“Of all the different career paths that I could go down — I could own my own business, I could invest, I could pursue a degree in law or medicine — and those are always, you know, high dividend, high pay-off careers,” she ponders during a consultation with supposed career coach Brian Patacca, “or I could accuse a famous man of rape.”

“Boom,” she continues, as Patacca struggles to remain composed. “The money just starts to rain down. If you could just make that one, really strong rape accusation, you’re set for life… Immediate fame.”

media_camera How else do young ladies get cash quickly nowadays? (Pic: iStock)

During a mock interview with Sandra Watson, a CEO and millionaire, Schaefer is quick to pinpoint the source of Watson’s wealth.

“How many famous men did you have to accuse of rape to get all of this success?” she asks. “How many celebrities did you have to say ‘Hey, he raped me’ and then they give you some money?”

Needless to say, Watson is unimpressed with this line of questioning. Perhaps if she spent a little more time eavesdropping on the men’s rights activists of this world she would have been unsurprised to discover many genuinely believe the fastest way for a women to build a fortune is by accusing a celebrity of rape.

So what conclusions does Schaefer draw at the end of her “investigation”?

“Maybe, just maybe, the women that accuse these men of rape did so because they were actually raped,” she suggests.

Some rape victims might actually be telling the truth? Surely she can’t be serious?

A few seconds later, order is mercifully restored in the all-women-are-liars universe.

“But until women as a whole become more trustworthy,” Schaefer dryly observes, “we’ll never know.”