It would be a relatively simple issue if someone falsely accused of rape suffered a brief inconvenience before given an apology, hand shake and a few shopping vouchers in compensation. Sadly that is not the case, and the accused suffer immensely from not only the stress of the trial itself but also the suspicion of friends and family and work colleagues which often never goes away. The fact that so few rapists are convicted means that many found innocent are likely guilty, and many innocent found innocent are treated as guilty. Justice may be blind, but people can be cruel bastards. I'd rather be mugged than falsely accused of rape.

I am willing to concede it is possible that the telling of rape jokes may allow rapists to delude themselves into thinking rape is accepted, much like the telling of disability jokes gives the green light to the bastards who make fun of the disabled and make their lives a living hell. I am not convinced that stopping these jokes would have much chance of stopping these people though. Anyone that deluded can convince themselves of anything and don't need encouragement. Avoiding such jokes does no one any harm though.

Even better would be to up the punishment of those convicted of rape. A few hangings would do wonders to convince rapists that society takes a dim view of rape. Sadly (or happily, depending on your point of view) society aren't as willing as I am to deploy the noose.