The United Kingdom has prosecuted 109 women over the past five years on charges of bringing false rape allegations to court.

According to The Guardian, 98 of the 109 cases were prosecuted for “perverting the course of justice.” This charge carries a maximum life sentence, a far more serious penalty than the crime’s misdemeanor designation in the United States. Another possible charge in the UK which carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison called “wasting police time” exists; however this charge is rarely used.

Women Against Rape, often called WAR, an international organization which works to change government policies and stop rape, went to the House of Commons on Tuesday, December 2nd, in protest of the United Kingdom’s false accusation policies.

WAR asserts that the punishment for false accusation has led to many women being forced to retract their rape accusations and that women have been threatened with prosecution for “perverting the course of justice” in order to reduce the crime rate.

The organization is campaigning for the prosecution of false allegations to hold misdemeanor status as it is in Canada, the United States, and Australia.

“These cases seem to be pursued with a particular vehemence by the police,” Nigel Richardson, the lawyer of a woman prosecuted and jailed for perverting the course of justice, told The Guardian. He continued, “There comes a moment when the woman goes from being a victim in the eyes of the police to a suspect. She may not even know that has happened.”

However, a spokesperson from the Crown Prosecution Service told The Telegraph, “If there is any question as to whether the original allegation might in fact have been true then a case of perverting the course of justice should not be brought.” The spokesperson continued, “The relatively few cases that are brought are based on strong evidence and should not dissuade any potential victim from coming forward to report an assault.”

“If the court system worked [perfectly], then bringing up a fake rape charge should be considered a felony,” Loren Po ’15 said. “Rape is a serious thing and it should be treated as such.”

Olivia Smith ’15 says, “I think that focusing on those that lie about being raped is focusing on the wrong end of the problem. We should be focusing on the rapists that aren’t charged because they lie about raping, not the other way around.”

WAR had some of the women imprisoned for false rape allegations speak at the House of Commons during their campaign on Tuesday and they hope to change the policies of the CPS regarding false allegations.