I am concerned about the disproportionate amount of descriptives here, did you want there to be a slant against women here with regards to name calling? Because that's what it sounds like to me. But then again, maybe I'm one of the shrews?
And isn't a false accusation a possibility in any situation that goes to court, regardless of whether it is rape or no? There is an unhealthy fixation on this when it comes to sexual assault and/or sexual abuse cases, and I find it callous and insensitive. Let's not kid ourselves here, both parties are being affected and put up for humiliation and derision--nobody is leaving unscathed.
As the consent issue has been discussed at length, I'm going move on to other considerations.
In simple terms, rape is about an imbalance of power, there is a system here. One party wields the power and the other--the powerless--is subjected to it, the perpetrator and the victim respectively. Historically, there are often physical, racial, social, economic, gender-based, etc. factors that also tie in to this power system, which leads to victim blaming because they are the party with the least power. The danger then is that we take sides with the party we most identify with, whether we are a part of those in power or those who are powerless (we could also look at this as privileged/unprivileged, not marginalized/marginalized, etc.). True justice is about leveling this power system to consider each side equally: giving power to the powerless, taking power from the powerful.
The point I am getting at is, how are our opinions playing into the power system? Laying false accusations aside--because as I stated early this is always a possibility regardless of the nature of the case--are we contributing to justice or detracting from it? Do we need to reconsider our vantage point?
In this case I identify with the woman, since I am a woman, and I would consider her to be the powerless one in terms of the systems in place--namely physical and gender-based, from what I have gathered. Does that make me biased? Probably. But at least, in this case, I am biased on the side of the powerless and not contributing to the imbalance. (I am certainly not going to invalidate the experience of the victim by jumping on the bandwagon of false accusations!) However, that does not mean I want to see the perpetrator ruined based solely on my personal bias, either. I want facts, not speculation, to decide the case--I acknowledge that both parties are entitled to due course. What I want most from this process is for the victim to feel empowered, that their experience merited the careful consideration it deserves. Because who would not want that for themselves and for those they love?