The Myths Surrounding Sexual Assault
The Myths Surrounding Sexual Assault
The Myths Surrounding Sexual AssaultThere are a lot of myths surrounding sexual assault, with possibly the biggest one being that the victim was somehow at fault. There is absolutely no truth in this. Rape is NEVER the victim's fault no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the rapist may claim. Any sexual activity that takes place without the consent of both parties is rape. Period. No contest.Another myth of sexual assault is that it is about sex. Rape is a violent act of power, anger, even hate acted out through a sexual encounter chosen as a means of control by the perpetrator. "Making love" or "having sex" has absolutely nothing to do with sexual assault.The myth that sexual assault is a crime of desire is pathetic. Any form of assault is about power, hate, anger, violence. These are not words that describe love or caring.One of the definitions of passion is "violent anger" so calling rape a crime of passion may have some truth to it. We think of passion as a strong feeling of love or sexual desire, but we don't usually equate violence with passion. So in using the statement that rape is a crime of "passion", the only true definition that fits that statement is the one of passion being "violent anger".There is also the myth that sexual predators attack and rape because they never have sex with an intimate partner. This is not true. Many a rapist will live a normal life in the eyes of others, being married and having normal sexual relations with his wife or partner. They seek out victims to abuse to fulfill some sick gratification they attain from intimidating and degrading another human being. Their choice of victims are those they can humiliate, scare, control and physically abuse.One myth that everyone wants to believe is that it is easy to spot a rapist because they look creepy, have shifty eyes, maybe are dirty or look angry. We would like to believe this because it would be easy for us to avoid an assault if we just had to stay away from men who looked suspicious. Wrong. Some rapists are disguised as overly friendly men offering their help in a seemingly innocent way.A rapist can be any age and come from any background or race. He can be the handsome stranger asking for help because of a "broken" arm or leg, the 19 yr old offering to help carry your groceries in the house for you, the kindly man asking to use your phone because his car broke down. Never let your guard down around anyone who sends any kind of vibes that makes your intuition stumble a little. Trust your gut feelings. Don't try to ignore the apprehensive feeling that suddenly overwhelms you.Another myth that is not true is that women secretly want to be raped. No one wants to be the victim of a violent assault. If a woman doesn't fight back, it is either because she is afraid that by fighting she will infuriate the assailant even more or because she is frozen by her fear. It is never because she has some secret desire to be raped.The crime of rape is life-changing and some will never recover from it. Committing suicide is seen by some victims as their only escape from the mental torment.Of course the best scenario is to never become a victim of a sexual assault. Always be alert to your surroundings and your intuition. Have a plan. Carry a weapon such as pepper spray or a stun gun. A personal alarm is another option for scaring off an assailant and attracting attention to your situation with its loud scream.And always know that any forced sexual encounter is not all right under any circumstance and that is NOT a myth.