Sexual Assault
 |
 |
 |
 |
Myths and facts about teen sexual assault
myth: most rapes occur at night by strangers lurking in dark places |
myth: a lot of women "cry rape" to get back at someone they are angry with |
myth: only women get raped |
myth: when a person commits a rape, he/she is really just interested in sex |
myth: if someone was raped, they must have been asking for it |
myth: a lot of times a rape could be prevented if the person had only fought harder |
myth: sexual assault is a crime of passion and lust |
| myth: you cannot be assaulted against your will fact: Assailants overpower their victims with the threat of violence or with actual violence. Especially in cases of acquaintance rape or incest, an assailant often uses the victim's trust in him to isolate him/her. |
myth: it is impossible for a husband to sexually assault his wife |
| myth: a person who has really been assaulted will be hysterical fact: Survivors exhibit a spectrum of emotional responses to assault: calm, hysteria, laughter, anger, apathy, shock. Each survivor copes with the trauma of the assault in a different way. |
| myth: sexual assault is an impulsive act fact: Seventy-five percent of all assaults are planned in advance. When three or more assailants are involved, 90% are planned. If two assailants are involved, 83% are planned. with one assailant, 58% are planned. |
| myth: assailants are usually crazed psychopaths who do not know their victims fact: As many as 80% of all assaults involve acquaintances. an assailant might be someone you know intimately. He may be a coworker, a friend or a family member. |
| myth: gang rape is rare fact: In 43% of all reported cases, more than one assailant was involved. |
| myth: many women claim that they have been sexually assaulted because they want revenge upon the man they accuse fact: Only 2% of sexual assault cases are based on false accusation. This percentage of unsubstantiated cases is the same as with many other reported crimes. |
| myth: people who dress or act in a "sexy" way are asking to be sexually assaulted fact: Many convicted sexual assailants are unable to remember what their victims looked like or were wearing. Nothing a person does or does not do causes a brutal crime like sexual assault. |
| myth: in most cases, black men attack white women fact: In most sexual assault cases, the assailant and his victim are of the same racial background. |
| myth: all women secretly want to be raped fact: Women, like all human beings, want a life of dignity and safety. Sexual assault robs a person of dignity and a sense of personal safety. No one wants the physical and emotional pain caused by sexual assault. |
| myth: only young, pretty women are assaulted fact: Survivors range in age from infancy to old age, and their appearance is seldom a consideration. Assailants often choose victims who seem most vulnerable to attack: old persons, children, physically or emotionally disabled persons, substance abusers, and street persons. Men are also attacked. |
| myth: as long as children remember to stay away from strangers, they are in no danger of being assaulted fact: Sadly, children are usually assaulted by acquaintances; a family member or other caretaking adult. children are usually coerced into sexual activity by their assailant, and are manipulated into silence by the assailant's threats and/or promises, as well as their own feelings of guilt. |
