I am posting the following in keeping in the context of Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month. Please let me know if there is anything you want to discuss. LLL
Rape Myths

1. Victims are to blame in some way for the assault.
2. Rape is an expression of sexual desire.
3. It won’t happen to me.
4. Men can’t stop themselves when they are sexually aroused.
5. Rape is usually committed by strangers.
6. It’s no big deal if a woman is forced to have sex with someone she knows (for example, a friend, date, boyfriend, or spouse) and it isn’t really rape.
7. Men are never victims of sexual assault.
8. Sexual violence does not occur between lesbians or between gay men.
9. If the victim was drunk or drugged, he or she was asking for it.

Rape Facts
1. The rapist is always responsible for having committed rape. Regardless of the victim’s appearance, behavior, judgment, or previous actions, the victim is not responsible for the rape. Rapists are responsible for the rape
2. Rape is an expression of hostility and aggression with sex as the vehicle. Rape is a violent abuse of power in which one person acts without regard for the pain and trauma inflicted on another.
3. One study found that one in four college women have been victims of rape or sexual assault. About 10% of sexual assault victims are men.
4. Men are capable of, and responsible for, controlling both their minds and bodies, just as women are.
5. College women are in far greater danger of being raped by a friend or a fellow student than by a stranger. Almost 90% of college women who were raped knew their assailants.
6. Sexual intercourse forced by an acquaintance is rape. In some ways it is more traumatic than stranger rape because the victim’s trust in others and in her own judgment can be seriously damaged.
7. Both men and women may be perpetrators or victims of sexual assault. Unfortunately, male victims rarely seek help, cue to embarrassment and the fear that they will not be taken seriously.
8. Sexual violence does occur in same-sex relationships. Far of homophobic responses may prevent victims from seeking help.
9. Inability to give consent is not “asking for it.”

Warshaw, R. (1994). I never called it rape. New York, NY: HarperPerennial.