Southern Crescent Sexual Assault Center (SCSAC)

Sexual violence is a crime epidemic proportions. It affects everyonne. The following identifies rape myths and also provides information about how to deal with the aftermath of an assault.

Rape: Myths and Facts

MYTH:	"She asked for it." A woman provokes rape by her behavior. Dressing provocatively, going out alone, staying out late, drinking alcohol, using drugs, "making out" with a man, leading a man on, etc. are all cause for a woman to be raped.
FACT:	No one asks to be sexually assaulted. Poor judgment or misbehavior does not justify or excuse a crime. The offender, not the victim, must be held responsible and accountable for their choice to commit a crime.
MYTH:	African American men commit most sexual assaults.
FACT:	Over 90% of sexual assaults occur between two people of the same racial or ethnic background.
MYTH:	Most sexual assaults are committed at night in out of the way places.
FACT:	Over 50% of sexual assaults occur in the victim's home.
MYTH:	Most sexual assaults are committed by a stranger.
FACT:	84% of sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows.
MYTH:	Victims frequently "cry rape" and falsely report the crime to police.
FACT:	Victims generally do not lie about rape. According to the FBI, only 2% of all reported sexual assaults are false accusations.
MYTH:	Only females can be raped.
FACT:	Makes are raped, too. It is currently estimated that one in ten men are victims of adult sexual abuse and one in six are victims of child sexual abuse.
MYTH:	Rape is an act of sex and passion.
FACT:	Rape is a crime of violence, power, domination, revenge, humiliation and control. Sexual gratification is not a motive for rape. Sex is the weapon, not the motive.
MYTH:	If the victim is not a virgin or has had prior consensual sex with the perpetrator, then it is not rape.
FACT:	The victim's past sexual history has no bearing on the assault. It does not matter if the victim has had a prior sexual relationship with the perpetrator. No means no. The victim could be friends with the perpetrator, could be dating the perpetrator or could be married to the perpetrator. No relationship gives an individual the right to force sex.
MYTH:	Victims who did not physically fight back were not actually raped.
FACT:	Regardless of whether there was a physical struggle, if someone is forced to have sex against his or her will, then rape has occurred.
MYTH:	Men who commit rape do not have access to willing sexual partners.
FACT:	Most men who commit rape have wives or girlfriends.
MYTH:	When a man becomes sexually aroused, he must have sex.
FACT:	Although sex may be desirable, it is not essential. Men have just as much control over their bodies as women do. We are all responsible for our own actions.
MYTH:	If a man pays for a woman on a date, then she owes him sex.
FACT:	A woman does not owe a man sex as a payment for anything.
MYTH:	Rape victims will show outward physical and emotional trauma as a result of the assault.
FACT:	The majority of rape victims will have no physical injuries at all. There is not one way in which a rape victim is supposed to react to the assault. Just as we all react differently to traumatic events in our lives, rape victims have very different emotional reactions to their assaults.

Sexual Assault Statistics

61% rapes or sexual assaults – about 2 out of every 3 – are not reported to the police (1999, NCVS).

1 of every 6 American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (1998, NIJC & CDC). 1 in 3 women will be the victims of a sexual assault by their 18th birthday.

About 3% of American men - about 1in 35 - have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (1998, NIJC & CDC). 1 in 6 men will be the victims of sexual assault by their 18th birthday.

Approximately 66% of rape victims know their assailant. Approximately 48% of victims are raped by a friend or acquaintance, 30% by a stranger, 16% by an intimate, 2% by a relative and 4% of cases, the relationship is unknown (2000, NCVS).

93% of juvenile sexual assault victims knew their attacker: 34.2% were family members and 58.7% were acquaintances (2000, USDOJ).

About 4 out of 10 sexual assaults take place in the victim's own home. 2 in 10 take place in the home of a friend, neighbor or relative. 1 in 10 takes place outside, away from home. About 1 in 12 takes place in a parking garage (1997, USDOJ).

More than half of all rape or sexual assault incidents were reported by victims to have occurred within one mile of their own home or at their home (1997, USDOJ).

15% of victims are under age 12; 29% are age 12-17; 44% are under the age of 18; and 80% are under the age of 30 (1999, NCVS).

Sexual assault affects everyone – the youngest reported victim of sexual assault was 2 months old and the oldest was 98 years old (1991, Harlow).

1 in 7 women will be raped by her husband (1992, NVC).

75% of male students and 55% of female students involved in date or acquaintance rape had been drinking or using drugs (1992, NVC).

Ages 12-34 are the highest risk years. Risk peaks in the late teens. Girls 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault (2000, NCVS).