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A handful of women's advocacy groups worry that recent high-profile rape cases such as the one involving ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will deter alleged victims from coming forward — even as police say some reported rapes are on the rise.

In the case against Strauss-Kahn, the credibility of the alleged victim was called into question last week after prosecutors revealed she had not been honest in her application for asylum and counted a friend's child as a dependent on her tax returns in order to increase her tax refund.

Advocates say attorneys will use an accuser's past to tarnish her character — using information such as credit reports and falsified job applications in an attempt discredit her.

"Each and every one of us knows that our background, our life is completely open and vulnerable," said Sonia Ossorio head of the New York City chapter of the National Organization of Women. "Whether it is whether we've ever lied on a job application, whether we've lied on our taxes."

Longtime special victims prosecutor and President of End Violence Against Women International, Roger Canaff said that when alleged victims see how those who come forward and report rape are treated, they’re much less likely to report if that treatment is negative.

Only about 30 percent are reported and according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.

But the NYPD said that in 80 percent of reported rapes the victim knows her attacker but more women have been coming forward than have in the past despite any prior relationship — something the NYPD said is "a positive development."

The department — which said overall crime has been down for 2011 — said it's trying to improve the way officers interact with victims by implementing discrete questioning, having fewer officers at crime scenes and screening a new training video.