Sexual Assault: Myths and Facts
- Myth: Rape won't happen to me or anyone I know.
- Fact: According to the FBI, a rape occurs in the US every five minutes. Young or old, male or female, all races religions and economic classes, in the city and in the country, rape can happen to anyone.
- Myth: Rape is caused by the perpetrator's uncontrollable sexual urge. He can't stop after he has gotten himself aroused to a certain point.
- Fact: Rape is an act of power and control, not sex. Also, men don't physically need to have sex after being aroused any more than women do-they can control their sexual urges.
- Myth: Individuals who rape are mentally incompetent or psychotic, and cannot help what they do.
- Fact: Very few perpetrators are mentally ill and/or out of touch with reality. Rapes may be planned or carried out by acquaintances, intimate partners, or family members-not just strangers.
- Myth: Victims "ask for it" by wearing seductive clothing, being "careless", etc.
- Fact: No one asks to be sexually assaulted. These ways of thinking blame the victim when really, the perpetrator is the one who committed the crime. All sorts of people, male or female, from all walks of life, have been sexually assaulted, and none of them "caused" their assailant to commit a crime against them.
- Myth: Women cause their assaults by drinking and letting their blood alcohol content get out of control.
- Fact: Alcohol is a weapon that some perpetrators use to control their victim and make them helpless. They may try to feed someone drinks or find a target who is already drunk. Alcohol isn't a cause of rape-it's a tool that perpetrators use.
- Myth: If the victim didn't put up a fight with the assailant, it's not really rape.
- Fact: There are a variety of responses to being in a situation such as rape, and often, fighting back increases the level of violence. Assailants aren't looking for a fight; instead, they use coercion and manipulation to rape. Often times alcohol or drugs such as GHB or rohyphnol, better known as date rape drugs, are used to incapacitate victims. Michigan law defines sexual assault by the action of the perpetrator, not the victim, and in fact there is a specific law stating that the victim doesn't need to resist the perpetrator in order for it to be considered rape.
- Myth: Most rapes are committed by strangers in the bushes or men who wear masks and hide in parking lots.
- Fact: Around 90% of rapes are committed by someone the victim knows-this could be anyone from a date, a family member, a partner, a classmate, spouse, neighbor, or friend.
- Myth: Most rapists only commit their crime once.
- Fact: Most every perpetrator is a serial rapist-they choose to use coercion, violence, threats of force, etc. to assault women on a repeated basis.
- Myth: If a victim was assaulted a few months ago, or a few years ago, he/she should be over it by now.
- Fact: There is no limitation on the amount of time it takes to "recover" from a sexual assault. It could very well take months, years, or a lifetime, and chances are, something like this will affect the rest of a victim's life.
- Myth: Only women are sexually assaulted.
- Fact: Anyone can be sexually assaulted. In 2002, one in every eight rape victims was male.
- Myth: Rapists are black and victims are white.
- Fact: Over 90% of rapes occur with in the same race. Whites tend to rape whites, blacks tend to rape blacks.
- Myth: Women lie about being raped.
- Fact: Only 2-3% of reported rapes are considered false-this is the same percentage for any other crime.
- Myth: If a man buys a woman dinner, then she owes him sex.
- Fact: No one "owes" sex for anything.
- Myth: There is no such thing as marital rape. If your significant other wants to have sex, it's your duty to give it to him/her.
- Fact: Even inside of a marriage, forced sexual intercourse is considered rape. As many as 14% of married women have been raped by their husbands.
- Myth: Most victims of rape weren't really raped-they just had "bad sex" and changed their minds afterward, and then reported it to the police to make themselves look better.
- Fact: Rape is one of the most underreported crimes in the nation. Only an estimated 16% of ever reported to the police at all. Why would a victim put herself through possible revictimization and pain for "bad sex"?
- Myth: Only young, attractive women are rape victims.
- Fact: Anyone can be raped. While most women who are raped are between the ages of 18-24, even 1% of women over 40 have reported sexual assaults. Also, rapists are not necessarily looking for "attractive" women to rape, because rape is about power and control, not about sex.
- Myth: Victims, especially male, like being raped.
- Fact: No one ever enjoys sexual assault. In some cases, one might respond sexually to an assault, but this is a purely reflexive physiological response. Rape is an expression of hostility and degradation and is, once again, about power and control, not about sex.
- Myth: If a victim has had sex with the perpetrator before, then it cannot be considered rape, nor is it a rape if the victim is not a virgin.
- Fact: Each sexual situation requires consent from both parties. The victim has control over his/her body at all times, and it is his/her decision to choose to have sexual intercourse or not.
- Myth: If a victim agrees to "making out" or undressing at any degree, the victim is agreeing to have sex.
- Fact: Everyone has the right to say "no" to sexual activity, regardless of what has happened before.
- Myth: If a person isn't hysterical and crying, he/she must not have been actually assaulted.
- Fact: There are a variety of ways in which one may respond to being sexually assaulted, including fear, shock, calm, anger, apathy, etc. Each survivor copes with being sexually assaulted in a different way. Just because a victim doesn't appear to be outwardly upset doesn't mean that he/she isn't dealing with his/her sexual assault in his/her own way.
- Myth: Gang Rape is rare.
- Fact: More than one assailant is involved in almost half of reported rape cases.
- Myth: It is impossible to sexually assault a man.
- Fact: Men fall victim to rape for the same reasons women do-they are overwhelmed by threats or acts of physical or emotional violence. Also, many male victims of sexual assault are assaulted by other men.
Resources used for myths and facts
