1. Myth: Most rapes occur at night by strangers lurking in dark places.
Fact: Four out of five teen rape victims are assaulted by someone they know. Many rapes
occur during daylight hours in places familiar to victims.

2. Myth: A lot of women "cry rape" to get back at someone they are angry with.
Fact: Out of all reported sexual assault cases, false reports only make up about 2%.

3. Myth: Only women get raped.
Fact: 1 in 7 men will have been sexually assaulted by the time they are adults. Men fall
victim for the same reasons as women: they are overwhelmed by threats or acts of physical
and emotional violence. Also, most sexual assaults that involve an adult male victim are gang
assaults.

4. Myth: When a person commits a rape, he/she is really just interested in sex.
Fact: Rape is about power and control, not about sex.

5. Myth: If someone was raped, they must have been asking for it.
Fact: Nobody ever asks or deserves to be raped.

6. Myth: A lot of times a rape could be prevented if the person had only fought harder.
Fact: The only person who can prevent a rape is the person who commits it. Sometimes,
fighting can increase the chances of getting seriously hurt.

7. Myth: Sexual assault is a crime of passion and lust.
Fact: Sexual assault is a crime of violence. Assailants seek to dominate, humiliate and
punish their victims.

8. 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 her.

9. Myth: It is impossible for a husband to sexually assault his wife.
Fact: Regardless of marital or social relationship, if a woman does not consent to sexual
activity, she is being sexually assaulted. In fact, 14% of women are victims of rape committed by
their husband.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Myth: Gang rape is rare.
Fact: In 43% of all reported cases, more than one assailant was involved.

14. Myth: Many women claim that they have been sexually assaulted because they want revenge
upon the man they accuse.
Fact: Only 4-6% of sexual assault cases are based on false accusation. This percentage of
unsubstantiated cases is the same as with many other reported crimes.

16. Myth: Persons 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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 assailants threats and/or promises, as well as their own feelings
of guilt.

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