Though I'd add to that that the common awareness--an acceptance of speaking publicly about and solidarity in not standing for--sexual assault, is something that has grown dramatically in the past decade for women. In the past many of these things would be covered in shame and swept under the rug but now the issues are more visible and many younger women are taking more active roles in fighting back against abuse. Many young men are working hard to be good allies in this as well.
It's something we can't know but I also wonder how widespread a fear of false allegation truly is. In my experience I've only heard it raised by men who have otherwise displayed misogynistic tendencies and, in the face of other perceived dangers, confidence to the point of arrogance. It's always struck me, ironically, as a false flag fear that is used to stir up distrust in the stories of women and to create a societal backdrop where sexual assault is easier to carry out. Obviously I can't share statistics or research on this point, but it's been my personal experience and it's a feeling I'd like to share with this community.
Why are you of the view that this is an irrational fear?
Neither is sexual assault. Now try to use said justification against a victim. What is happening is that the empress is naked and we are not impressed by her accusations.
Have you ever been close with a woman who didn't have multiple stories of assault to share. I haven't. Literally every woman I've ever dated, every woman in my immediate family and many of of close friends have talked to be about it, and it doesn't happen to them just once either. And we live in ostensibly one of the safest parts of the world, with plenty of money and good policing etc.
This isn't to mention the literal thousands of women showing up involuntarily on revenge porn websites every day, the creepshot websites, the harassment subreddits...
Nor the domestic abuse/spousal coercian (or the femicide that can follow!)
It's, like, literally super common. I'm sorry but if you think otherwise you need to listen better to the women around you.
Just think about it: The vast majority of sexual assault goes unreported, and the only a tiny percentage of reports are made maliciously. It's clear from napkin maths that sexual assault is orders of magnitude more common than false accusation.
The empress may well be naked but it's because men have ripped her clothes off.