--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Talk of \"witch-hunts\" conceals an…" description: "\"“Talk of \"witch-hunts\" conceals an inconvenient fact: men charged with rape stand a better chance of walking free than other defendants. The conviction..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/joan-smith-50434_acquittal_talk-of-witch-hunts-conceals-an-inconven_2059441.jpg" --- # Talk of "witch-hunts" conceals an inconvenient fact: men… ![“Talk of "witch-hunts" conceals an inconvenient fact: men charged with rape stand a better chance of walking free than other defendants. The conviction rate in rape trials – 63 per cent in 2012/13 – is quite a lot lower. Prosecutors are taking a bigger risk when they bring rape cases to court…” quote by Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/joan-smith-50434_acquittal_talk-of-witch-hunts-conceals-an-inconven_2059441.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/joan-smith-50434_acquittal_talk-of-witch-hunts-conceals-an-inconven_2059441.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/joan-smith-50434_acquittal_talk-of-witch-hunts-conceals-an-inconven_2059441.jpg) > ““Talk of "witch-hunts" conceals an inconvenient fact: men charged with rape stand a better chance of walking free than other defendants. The conviction rate in rape trials – 63 per cent in 2012/13 – is quite a lot lower. Prosecutors are taking a bigger risk when they bring rape cases to court, especially when the alleged offences happened decades ago, leaving no forensic evidence. The Independent, 9 February 2014”” [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that rape defendants are often acquitted more often than other defendants, suggesting systemic bias and evidentiary challenges in sexual assault prosecutions. **In simple terms:** Rape cases often end in acquittals due to bias and lack of evidence. Key Takeaway Recognize and address legal disparities in sexual assault cases. Themes justice gender bias legal system sexual assault evidence Mood concerned critical Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - courtrooms - law enforcement - policy reform - public advocacy Key Concepts systemic bias prosecutorial risk historical cases Questions to Reflect On - How can the legal system improve conviction rates for rape? - What reforms could reduce bias in sexual assault trials? A Different Perspective Legal outcomes can be influenced by societal attitudes and evidentiary standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acquittal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquittal/) [Alleged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alleged/) [Charged Rape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charged-rape-3921147/) [Child-sex-abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-sex-abuse-31105/) [Child-sexual-abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-sexual-abuse/) [Convictions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convictions/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Criminal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal/) [Historic-child-abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historic-child-abuse-82962/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Not guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-guilty/) [Paedophiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paedophiles/) [Pedophiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pedophiles/) [Rape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rape/) [Rape Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rape-cases-1797021/) [Rape Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rape-trials-3921146/) [Rape-convictions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rape-convictions-154085/) [Rape-culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rape-culture/) [Rate Rape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rate-rape-3921148/) [Witch hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witch-hunt/) [Witchhunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witchhunt/) ## Related quotes > [“Roache's statement after his acquittal was dignified but his supporters were angry. They demanded to know why the case was ever brought, claiming that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/roache-s-statement-after-his-acquittal-was-dignified-but-his/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [“Jokes and media slurs about rape and its survivors not only desensitize the issue but also have an impact on rape conviction rates! "Widespread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-saunders-head-of-the-crown-prosecution-service/jokes-and-media-slurs-about-rape-and-its-survivors-not-only/) [Alison Saunders head of the Crown Prosecution Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-saunders-head-of-the-crown-prosecution-service/) > [The coalition government made it clear from the outset that it would proceed with defendant anonymity in rape cases only if the evidence justifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/the-coalition-government-made-it-clear-from-the-outset-that-it-would/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [Women are not required in general to be named in rape cases because of the stigmas that go with being a rape complainant, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-estrich/women-are-not-required-in-general-to-be-named-in-rape-cases-because/) [Susan Estrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-estrich/) > [“Studies conducted in a city in Zimbabwe found that half of reported rape cases involve girls less than 15 years of age and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/njovana-watts/studies-conducted-in-a-city-in-zimbabwe-found-that-half-of-reported/) [Njovana Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/njovana-watts/) > [“Summary There is a small group of cases, initially treated as rape where there is no evidence of an assault: primarily where a third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-kelly/summary-there-is-a-small-group-of-cases-initially-treated-as-rape/) [Liz Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-kelly/) > [“- Rape is a unique crime, representing both a physical and psychological violation. More than with any other crime the victim can experience reporting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-kelly/rape-is-a-unique-crime-representing-both-a-physical-and-psychological/) [Liz Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-kelly/) ## More by Joan Smith > [ “One of the chief paradoxes of our culture \[is\] that the welfare of its children, its \_future\_, is placed almost exclusively in the hands… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/one-of-the-chief-paradoxes-of-our-culture-is-that-the-welfare-of-its/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [“In a short space of time, she had become indispensable, rather like a comfortable grey gown in which one always appears respectable and can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/in-a-short-space-of-time-she-had-become-indispensable-rather-like-a/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [“Roache's statement after his acquittal was dignified but his supporters were angry. They demanded to know why the case was ever brought, claiming that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/roache-s-statement-after-his-acquittal-was-dignified-but-his/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [“She preferred keeping her mouth shut and appearing a fool to opening it and removing the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/she-preferred-keeping-her-mouth-shut-and-appearing-a-fool-to-opening/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [“... to have a lover and friend in one was the best love of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/to-have-a-lover-and-friend-in-one-was-the-best-love-of-all/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [“Some folks called Dewar a dilettante; he did not consider it an appropriate term, indicating as it did a lack of seriousness, a trifling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/some-folks-called-dewar-a-dilettante-he-did-not-consider-it-an/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) [Explore all 7 Joan Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) ## More Acquittal quotes > [“No jury in this part of the world's going to say, "We think you're guilty, but not very," on a charge like that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-jury-in-this-part-of-the-world-s-going-to-say-we-think-you-re/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I made no pretense of doing balanced reporting about murder. I was appalled by defense attorneys who would do anything to win an acquittal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominick-dunne/i-made-no-pretense-of-doing-balanced-reporting-about-murder-i-was/) [Dominick Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominick-dunne/) > [Among the rednecks of America, which there are many more than people seem to realize, it was terribly damaging. I got blamed for O.J.'s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lee-bailey/among-the-rednecks-of-america-which-there-are-many-more-than-people/) [F. Lee Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lee-bailey/) > [“Roache's statement after his acquittal was dignified but his supporters were angry. They demanded to know why the case was ever brought, claiming that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-smith/roache-s-statement-after-his-acquittal-was-dignified-but-his/) [Joan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-smith/) > [Lawyers have been known to wrest from reluctant juries triumphant verdicts of acquittal for their clients, even when those clients, as often happens, were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/lawyers-have-been-known-to-wrest-from-reluctant-juries-triumphant/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Acquittal of the guilty damns the judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/acquittal-of-the-guilty-damns-the-judge/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [I always received much more satisfaction as a defense attorney in obtaining an acquittal for a client than I ever have as a D.A.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-garrison/i-always-received-much-more-satisfaction-as-a-defense-attorney-in/) [Jim Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-garrison/) > [Mortality: not acquittal but a series of postponements is what we hope for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/mortality-not-acquittal-but-a-series-of-postponements-is-what-we-hope/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [ Interestingly enough, I feel what the show \[OJ Simpson\] was able to accomplish in a really masterful way is that White America could look… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-k-brown/interestingly-enough-i-feel-what-the-show-oj-simpson-was-able-to/) [Sterling K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-k-brown/) > [In America, an acquittal doesn't mean you're innocent, it means you beat the rap. My clients lose even when they win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lee-bailey/in-america-an-acquittal-doesn-t-mean-you-re-innocent-it-means-you/) [F. Lee Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lee-bailey/) > [“And does the trial start over again?” asked K., finding it hard to believe.  “The trial will always start over again,” said the painter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-does-the-trial-start-over-again-asked-k-finding-it-hard-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our measure of rewards and punishments is most partial and incomplete, absurdly inadequate, utterly worldly; and we wish to continue it into the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-measure-of-rewards-and-punishments-is-most-partial-and-incomplete/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [The breath Of accusation kills an innocent name, And leaves for lame acquittal the poor life, Which is a mask without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-breath-of-accusation-kills-an-innocent-name-and-leaves-for-lame/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Here is a man whose life and actions the world has already condemned - yet whose enormous fortune...has already brought him acquittal!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/here-is-a-man-whose-life-and-actions-the-world-has-already-condemned/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“But just take the jurists' side for a moment: why, in fact, should a trial be supposed to have two possible outcomes when our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/but-just-take-the-jurists-side-for-a-moment-why-in-fact-should-a/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) [Browse all 24 Acquittal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquittal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Talk of \"witch-hunts\" conceals an inconvenient fact: men charged with rape stand a better chance of walking free than other defendants. 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