yviedarling
February 2nd, 2014, 01:21 PM
Woody Allen is a very well known American director, comedian, screenwriter, actor, playwright and musician. He's been in the spotlight for over 50 years.
In 1992 (or 1993, i've seen both), Woody Allen was accused by his ex girlfriend's (Mia Farrow) seven year old daughter (Dylan Farrow, now known as Malone Farrow) of sexually abusing her in an attic. Allen denies everything and was never convicted, the judge saying the case was "inconclusive".
There have been many angles of this case, some in favor of Dylan, most I've seen in favor of Woody. This case is at least 20 years old, and it's now resurfacing, Allen having just won an award. For the first time, Farrow herself has come out with her account of the abuse, in an open letter to The New York Times. here is the letter. it might disturb some. (http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/an-open-letter-from-dylan-farrow/) Next, there is an article in defense of Woody Allen. here is the article. (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/27/the-woody-allen-allegations-not-so-fast.html)
Now, if you're wondering what the statistics are in false accusations of child sexual abuse in divorce/child custody cases, I have looked some up for you. Studies made in 1990, paper published in 2005:
In a study of 9,000 divorce cases in 12 states, allegations of CSA (child sex abuse) were made in less than 2% of all cases
no reliable study documents any change in CSA allegations
mothers accused fathers in 48% of CSA cases
mothers accused step-fathers or others in 19% of cases
fathers accused mothers in 6% of cases
fathers accused stepfathers or others in 16% cases
third parties accused fathers, mothers or others in 11% cases
the incidence of false accusations are somewhere between 5% to 8% of all cases
unfounded CSA cases (circumstances too difficult/delicate to know the truth) in custody cases came up about as often as unfounded CSA cases not involved in custody battles. source. page 1 used for quick facts (http://www.missouristate.edu/assets/swk/Module-12_Handout-2_Fact_Sheet_Divorce_and_Allegations.pdf)
I really apologize for the somewhat dated studies, but the timeline matches up perfectly when the accusations were made.
my take:
I don't know much about Woody Allen. Sure, I recognize his name and all, but if I watch one of his movies, i won't recognize that it's his unless i see his name in the credits. And I think it's better that way, at least in the circumstances of determining whether I believe he's innocent or not. And frankly, I don't. In my opinion, child abuse is not something you just throw around. And from the statistics it looks like it rarely did get thrown around. And I feel most of the people that defend him are either his friends or his fans. Of the people that I have seen condemn him, it's been people that don't know him very well or people that don't like him. Honestly, i think we should remove people who knew of him (a lot) beforehand. I understand that he's an icon and a bunch of people will know his name, but there are some who know only that. His name. If we're going to judge him, then use the people who can read without any knowledge of him beforehand. Like you would if it was an average Stan who got accused. Fame brings a lot of forgiveness, but it also brings a lot of people who will say someone's guilty just because they don't like his films or music. Some people might say it doesn't matter that what people think, because he'll never go to jail for it. well, it does matter. it always matters. This isn't okay. And if we just shrug it off and let it go, predators will think they can get away with it. And we shouldn't let them think that, because that isn't the way it's supposed to be.
I'm sorry if this isn't as detailed as you might've wanted. I was trying to keep out things that didn't have to do with the case itself, like Woody's marriage or past relationships. I tried to keep it strictly about Farrow and Allen, because i know when it comes to celebrities, everything can get mixed into one big deal, when it should be about the criminal allegations and that's it.
Opinions?
In 1992 (or 1993, i've seen both), Woody Allen was accused by his ex girlfriend's (Mia Farrow) seven year old daughter (Dylan Farrow, now known as Malone Farrow) of sexually abusing her in an attic. Allen denies everything and was never convicted, the judge saying the case was "inconclusive".
There have been many angles of this case, some in favor of Dylan, most I've seen in favor of Woody. This case is at least 20 years old, and it's now resurfacing, Allen having just won an award. For the first time, Farrow herself has come out with her account of the abuse, in an open letter to The New York Times. here is the letter. it might disturb some. (http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/an-open-letter-from-dylan-farrow/) Next, there is an article in defense of Woody Allen. here is the article. (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/27/the-woody-allen-allegations-not-so-fast.html)
Now, if you're wondering what the statistics are in false accusations of child sexual abuse in divorce/child custody cases, I have looked some up for you. Studies made in 1990, paper published in 2005:
In a study of 9,000 divorce cases in 12 states, allegations of CSA (child sex abuse) were made in less than 2% of all cases
no reliable study documents any change in CSA allegations
mothers accused fathers in 48% of CSA cases
mothers accused step-fathers or others in 19% of cases
fathers accused mothers in 6% of cases
fathers accused stepfathers or others in 16% cases
third parties accused fathers, mothers or others in 11% cases
the incidence of false accusations are somewhere between 5% to 8% of all cases
unfounded CSA cases (circumstances too difficult/delicate to know the truth) in custody cases came up about as often as unfounded CSA cases not involved in custody battles. source. page 1 used for quick facts (http://www.missouristate.edu/assets/swk/Module-12_Handout-2_Fact_Sheet_Divorce_and_Allegations.pdf)
I really apologize for the somewhat dated studies, but the timeline matches up perfectly when the accusations were made.
my take:
I don't know much about Woody Allen. Sure, I recognize his name and all, but if I watch one of his movies, i won't recognize that it's his unless i see his name in the credits. And I think it's better that way, at least in the circumstances of determining whether I believe he's innocent or not. And frankly, I don't. In my opinion, child abuse is not something you just throw around. And from the statistics it looks like it rarely did get thrown around. And I feel most of the people that defend him are either his friends or his fans. Of the people that I have seen condemn him, it's been people that don't know him very well or people that don't like him. Honestly, i think we should remove people who knew of him (a lot) beforehand. I understand that he's an icon and a bunch of people will know his name, but there are some who know only that. His name. If we're going to judge him, then use the people who can read without any knowledge of him beforehand. Like you would if it was an average Stan who got accused. Fame brings a lot of forgiveness, but it also brings a lot of people who will say someone's guilty just because they don't like his films or music. Some people might say it doesn't matter that what people think, because he'll never go to jail for it. well, it does matter. it always matters. This isn't okay. And if we just shrug it off and let it go, predators will think they can get away with it. And we shouldn't let them think that, because that isn't the way it's supposed to be.
I'm sorry if this isn't as detailed as you might've wanted. I was trying to keep out things that didn't have to do with the case itself, like Woody's marriage or past relationships. I tried to keep it strictly about Farrow and Allen, because i know when it comes to celebrities, everything can get mixed into one big deal, when it should be about the criminal allegations and that's it.
Opinions?