April is sexual assault awareness month. As such, I wanted to write a little something and provide some statistics. (facts and statistics gathered from the links below)
Myth: "It can't happen to me." Rape is an isolated, infrequent event that only happens to certain kinds of people.
Fact: Anyone can be sexually assaulted. Studies show that sexual assault happens to people of all ages, people of color, lesbians/gays, people with disabilities, and people of every racial, ethnic, religious, economic and social background.
Myth: "She asked for it." Women often provoke rape by their own behavior: wearing low-cut clothing, going out alone, staying out late, being drunk, kissing, etc.
Fact: No one asks to be sexually assaulted. People have the right to be safe from sexual violence. The offender, not the survivor, must be held responsible for this crime.
Myth: Women frequently "cry rape".
Fact: The FBI reports that false accusations account for only 2% of all reported sexual assaults. This is no higher than false reports for any other crime. It is believed that rapes are UNDER reported.
Myth: It's not rape if the couple is dating or is married.
Fact: Unwanted sexual activity in any relationship qualifies as sexual assault.
Myth: Rape has to do with sex and passion.
Fact: Rape has to do with interpersonal violence.
Myth: Most sexual assaults are committed by strangers in out of the way places.
Fact: Over 70% of sexual assaults are committed by someone the survivor knows. Over 40% of sexual assaults occur in the victim's home and another 30% take place in the home of a friend, neighbor or relative.
- 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.
- 17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.
- 1 in 33 American men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.
- 2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.
- 15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.
- Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.
- In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.
- 93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.
Victims of sexual assault are:
3 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.
Learn how to talk to your children about sexual abuse:
http://www.rainn.org/
For sexual abuse and domestic violence information, resources or assistance:
http://mvwcs.com/index.html
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