MYTHS AND FACTS

* Myth: Stranger Rape is the most common form of rape
* Fact: Statistics from the National Crime Victimization Survey, 2004
show the following:

* 67% non-stranger
* 47% friends of acquaintances
* 17% intimate partner
* 3% family violence



* Myth: Woman fantasize about being raped
* Fact: A fantasy or dream is not reality. Fantasizing about
something does not mean you actually want to be raped. Some people
fantasize about aggressive sex between consenting adults. This is not
rape.
No woman wants to be raped. By definition, rape is forced sex against an
individual's will.



* Myth: A man can't rape his wife
* Fact: Spousal rape is rape. The idea that a man can't rape his wife
suggests that married woman do not have the same right to safety as do
unmarried woman. Most battered women have experienced some form of sexual
abuse within their marriage. It is also known that estranged or
ex-spouses
sometimes use rape as a form of retaliation.



* Myth: Rape only happens to young, attractive women
* Fact: Rape can and does strike anyone at any time. Age, social
class, and ethnic group have no bearing on the person a rapist chooses to
attack. A rapist's decision to rape is based on how easily he/she
perceives
his target can be intimidated. Rapist are looking for available and
vulnerable targets.



* Myth: You can tell a rapist by the way he looks.
* Fact: Rapist are not physically identifiable. They may appear
friendly, normal and non-threatening. Many are young, married, and have
children. Rapist types and traits however can be categorized.



* Myth: Most sexual assaults are interracial.
* Fact: About 90% of all rapes are intra-relational.



* Myth: Rape is often an impulsive, spontaneous act.
* Fact: Most rapes are carefully planned by the rapist. A rapist will
rape again and again, usually in the same area of town and in the same
way.



* Myth: Women often lie about rape and accuse innocent men.
* Fact: According to the FBI crime statistics, less than 2% of
reported rape cases are found to be false. There are no more false of
rape
than there are of any other crime.




* Myth: Women don't rape men
* Fact: Women can and do rape men, although this seems much less
common than rape by men. Sexual assault of a man by one or more women is
just as serious as any other type of violation of any other
victim/survivor



* Myth: Being raped reflects upon the victim/survivor's manhood
* Fact: It is important to remember that a victim/survivor of rape,
whether male or female, was not at fault or responsible. Recovering from
rape demands that we realize and combat rape myths about male and female
victim/survivors.



* Myth: There is no way of lowering your risk of being raped.
* Fact: By increasing your awareness and taking basic precautions you
can make yourself safer. Precautions include:

* Never hitchhike. From one third to one half of all male rapes may be
due to hitchhiking.
* Moderate your drinking and us of drugs. Intoxication increases your
vulnerability.
* Pay increased attention to your surroundings, especially in isolated
situations.



* Myth: Men deal better with personal/physical crisis and attacks than
women do, and will therefore get over a rape more quickly without help.
* Fact: There is growing evidence that men heal from this type of
experience with greater difficulty. Men characteristically deal with this
sort of trauma by trying to ignore it. This reluctance to seek therapy or
support hinders recovery, and many men remain traumatized by the crime for
years,



* Myth: There is nothing a man can do to help another man who has been
victimized by rape.
* Fact: Like the women's movement, a movement among men toward
supporting and helping one another will be a giant step in beginning to
effectively address the needs of male victim/survivors. Exposing and
attacking the myths and disseminating the facts about male rape is a first
step in this direction.



* Myth: Victim/survivors of male rape must be gay
* Fact: Both straight and gay men can be raped: most studies report
that at least half (and more often clearly majority) of victim/survivors
are exclusively heterosexual.