‘What about malicious reports?’

I’m a believer that admitting there is a problem is the first step to finding a solution. I, like many of us, have been an active participant in harmful narratives including asking questions that detract from the issue at hand. Along with others, I followed media coverage of sexual assaults involving sporting stars and celebrities and I asked the question that I was encouraged to ask such as: ‘what did she expect?’ Over the past decade, I’ve been actively trying to unlearn many of the harmful stereotypes and to shift the narrative on victim-blaming, gendered stereotypes and the manifestation of power and privilege. It’s hard, it’s uncomfortable, but it’s also necessary. 

Why the focus on malicious reporting? 

This is one of the key questions that has been posed to me when I’ve worked in organisations encouraging the use of reporting platforms, including anonymous reporting. Let me be clear, there is always a possibility that a report may be false or misleading, and when that is found organisations should have processes in place to address this, and hold reports that have been made in bad faith accountable. In the UK the risk of false or malicious reporting relating to sexual violence is around 4% - this is in line with any other crime being reported. Yet the perception of sexual violence or misconduct complaints is that it must be far higher.

This is because we are often concerned with the impact on the accused, rather than challenging the behaviour. We worry about their careers, their reputation: they were a ‘good bloke’ despite killing their children, wife and before themselves, and they had a bright future and shouldn’t be punished for ‘20 minutes of action’. 

So why is the question being asked? Is it fear of being reported, of being called out, of setbacks to career or reputation? Or is it rocking the boat and challenging a notion of power and control within an organisation that feels uncomfortable. It may be none of these or all of the above. If this is a question you are asking, ask yourself why and sit with the response for a while.

Like any risk, the risk of a false or misleading report should be mitigated through policy and appropriate and proportionate action, if a report is found to have been false or malicious. But small risks such as these should not dictate organisational practice. 

How does it impact someone reporting? 

There are a number of barriers to reporting - including not being believed, fear of being further victimised or re-traumatised, and fear of losing control in a situation where one’s control has been taken away. Instead of asking questions of the person reporting, take a moment and ask yourself about the courage it has taken for that person to come forward. 

By focusing on the small percentage of those complaints that may be false or malicious, we are feeding the notion that those impacted by violence and harassment, are not to be believed. This is why specialists support providers highlight the need to create a culture of belief in organisations.

When the first question you ask is about what is in place to prevent malicious reporting, you are focusing on a minor risk of abuse of power, compared to structural abuses of power that enable acts of harassment and violence to be perpetrated. 

When we ask questions of ‘why’ to those reporting, rather than of those engaging in the behaviour, we are playing a complicit role in perpetuating a culture that says that their behaviour is okay.

I understand the discomfort in discussing the subjects of systemic power and privilege, of violence and harassment, and of the ownership, we must take in dismantling processes that we know, and are comfortable with. But we need to collectively move past that discomfort and take responsibility. 

The questions we ask or give weight to in our decision-making and organisational strategy reinforce notions of who has power and influence, and who will be believed and supported. So if the question arises, address it in the round, and use it as an opportunity to reframe the conversation. Perhaps onto what action can be taken to prevent it from happening again.