I [Lydia Forson] woke up this morning to my mentions buzzing because of an issue of a false rape allegation that unfortunately pushed a young man to commit suicide.

Before I could get all the details of this case (and there’s still a lot I don’t know) , I was expected to make a statement to prove where I stood.

I’ve never understood this because I can’t fathom why anyone would think it’s something I’d condone.

Unfortunately, I’ve come to understand that, for many, taking a stand for women automatically means one against men; and so you’re constantly needed to prove that it isn’t the case.

And this may lead you to make premature statements under pressure, something I’ve admittedly succumbed to and sometimes shot myself in the foot.

Unfortunately it doesn’t just end there, regardless of what you may say, the entire conversation would have already become an online war or words between feminist, anti feminist and people in between; and this is always saddens to me.

When we focus energy and anger on calling feminist out for what they’ve said or not instead of speaking on the severity of an issue, we take the much needed attention away from it.

Let me state that I’m just as against FALSE RAPE ALLEGATIONS just as I am RAPE; if anything that makes my stomach churn and I get so sad and angry because I understand the repercussions on the real victims and the entire movement.

Victims of rape already struggle to be heard or get the justice they deserve, lying about it makes it harder and it’s something many feminist have written extensively about.(even I have)

I personally know victims of both rape and false allegations and I can tell you that it’s equally it’s damaging to them and some never fully recover from it.

It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

But the solution isn’t in arguing amongst ourselves; it’s in getting the system to work.

Both the accuser/accused deserve to have an allegation thoroughly investigated to get justice or clear their name, this will make it harder for rapist and false accusers.

If the system remains ineffective people will continue to seek justice on social media; and this will only leave room for people to weaponize this to their advantage.

I hope that we can work together collectively to make this happen.

Please forgive typos- I’m extremely passionate about this and just poured out my heart here.