Going through all the BS that rape victims go through after making an accusation of rape (including what's going on in this thread), why would any victim make this up? Don't @ me and say money or regret of consensual sex.
Make accusation, get judged, get ridiculed, speculated against, name in the press (if it's high profile), reputation attacked by lawyers, judgement from peers and then knowing most rapist go uncharged? It sounds like hell. Would you go through that? Even if it was for money or regret of consensual? I doubt you would.
My father in law is the volunteer doctor at the SATC here. He's on call every weekend. Every weekend he gets called in. Majority of these victims don't file charges, I'd guess 75% or more don't (he rarely gets called to trial). The ones that do file charges have to deal with the legal side of it for YEARS. He gets called between 9pm and 3am. This isn't some hangover regret. This is real life tragedy.
Women who are sexually assaulted that
don’t report it to the police are enabling the rape of more women.
Rapists usually don’t stop at one.
When my wife was younger a man she knew broke into her bedroom window while she was asleep and (unsuccessfully) attempted to rape her. She called the cops, identified him and he was arrested and eventually put in prison.
Through DNA testing it was determined that he raped
at least 8 other women and girls before attacking my (future) wife.
None of them followed through with pressing charges. All of them knew him.
If just one of them stepped forward all the others after that would not have been raped.
While I have sympathy for the victims of rape their silence allows more women to be victimized.