In cases of rape how do they determine if the victim is lying or not?

if someone reports they've been raped....but they would be victimizer denies it saying it was consensual and or he never had sex with her period and there were no witnesses how can authorities find out what happend?In cases of rape how do they determine if the victim is lying or not?
After all the statements have been taken.They are sent to the DPP(The Department Of Public Prosecutions). They then look at the statements and evidence. They make a decision on what they have to see if it will go to court.


If it goes to court the victim has the DPP to represent them. The accused has there own solicitor. It is normally held in a closed court(this means no jury just a judge a police officer somebody who is taking the notes.the victim the a member of the DPP the accused there solicitor and anybody who has made statements.)


Then the Judge will decide on what will happen.





It's just one persons word against the the others.I was raped and in the middle of this process at the moment. And I realize a lot of people make false statements and I think that's disgusting. It makes it a lot harder on the real victims and the people who are prosacuting them.In cases of rape how do they determine if the victim is lying or not?
Best thing is to write down on a piece of paper before having sex that you both agree to have sex and date it and sign it!!! Ha ha ha. I'm afraid some day we'll go to this length. In the meanwhile if a woman looks injured when she gets examined by a doctor this is evidence of struggle. If there are no signs of struggle or injury and she is calm then who would believe her? In case of rape there must be struggle and it will be obvious if the victim is still alive. Also there can be DNA testing to identify the fluids in the victim's vagina. This can really incriminate the perpetrator.
On the issue of consent, yes we face the all too difficult position of he said she said. However as is often the case the victim is heavily intoxicated, in law they are unable to form the requisite capacity to consent and thus anything that the offender does to her is rape.





In so far as determining if something did in fact happen then we are forced to rely of forensic evidence and the medical examination of the victim. This is also fraught with issues in that the victim often feels that they're being raped again by the examining doctor.





Far too many rapes go unreported for a whole variety of reason.... shane, fear of retribution, shock, self loathing etc. Sadly far to many non rapes also get reported and this makes it difficult for police investigators to determine what is real and what is not. Police will balance the version provided by the complainant against the evidence to hand ... its all we have when working out the truth of the matter.





In my 10 years of experience I have investigated and assisted in the investigation of many rapes ..... far too many have in fact come down to what is politely described as 'post coital remorse' or ';what happens when my partner finds out?'; and the rape complaint is seen as the only way out.





I can say that all matters are treated as real and as rapes until proved otherwise and all are referred onto sexual assault services and counseling.





If anyone reading this is in the position of being the victim of an unreported rape, any police officer worthy of their badge will help you as best they can. A late complaint of rape is not always too late (a little more difficult granted, but not impossible)



Sadly enough, many people get off the hook if there is no solid evidence of rape. They may look at the reactions of the woman when being interviewed by police and lawyers and such, but there is no way of determining whether or not someone was raped with no evidence or witnesses.
If semen is present, it not only proves that sex happened, it can be DNA typed to match a specific person.





If a rape kit is ran, they can tell by the vaginal bruising (or anal bruising in some cases) if it is consensual sex or not...there is a ';sex clock'; standard...if bruising occurs at certain points on the ';clock'; is can show it was consensual or rape.





If no rape kit and after the fact, the perp will be tried via circumstantial evidence...if there are a multitude of other women that were taken advantage of, it could be proven and the perp convicted circumstantially.
The 'authorities' don't. In a trial, witnesses are presented and lawyers will attempt to sway the jury's opinions, but it is the jury that ultimately decides whether or not the victim is telling the truth.





Edit - However, this assumes that the matter even goes to trial. Sadly, these things often don't.
Credibility is a matter for the jury.