Firstly, rape involves penetration. Different areas define rape differently, but it does involve penetration. Otherwise it is sexual assault. False reporting of sexual assault DOES happen, and because of duke and some other cases it seems like it happens a lot. Sometimes it is suggested that their is false reporting when it is not false reporting, such as when someone withdraws charges or identifies the wrong person. This may suggest false reporting, but in my experience as an advocate it is almost always an actual assault. Women withdraw charges because they are told that the case won't get anywhere, or because they just want to forget. Men are misidentified in cases of stranger rape, because of how the brain responds to traumatic events. The media, in my experience, has suggested both of these cases are false reporting- ESPECIALLY after Duke.
Innocent women and men should not be legally responsible for preventing rape. Women should not live in constant fear, but they do. Their fear is worse, in my opinion, that the fear men have a false allegations. Men SHOULD fear false allegations in my opinion, because it does happen and they should take action to prevent it from happening. This is not a legal thing, it is a basic safety.
Ok, there are a lot of problems with numbers on sexual assault and rape. The one in four statistic was given to me by an ill informed instructor, however it was based on a small study of college women in 1982. The statistic used by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network is currently 1 in 6 women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
http://www.rainn.org/statistics/index.html . 1 in 33 men are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Sexual Assault may or may not involve penetration (ie: rape).
The 1 in 6 and 1 in 33 statistics are probably the most reliable available. It is estimated that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 to 9 boys are sexually abused. So, as you see, statistics conflict. The problem is that rape is widely underreported. In some cases, like drug facilitated rape or partner rape, the women may not know it is rape. In some parts of the world the rate of rape is very, very high. In Darfur, for instance, the rate of rape is astonishingly high.
The accepted statistic for false report is 2% to 6%. I would venture to guess the false report rate of rape is the same as the false report rate for any other violent crime. The most recent one I heard was 2%. There are studies that will put it as high as 46%, however we must understand that these statistics are not necessarily measuring false reporting. We have to understand that very few reported rapes are prosecuted just on DNA evidence or just on "her word". Eyewitnesses, evidence of bruising, etc must be present. Or else it is lack of evidence and the DA should not prosecute. Rape is almost always prosecuted only when another crime is committed during the rape, such as breaking and entering, kidnapping, or drug use.
The false imprisonment you may be thinking of may be satanic ritual abuse. Reports of SRA are nearly always false. There are men in jail today for false allegations for SRA, and that is wrong.