*** Awake! 1993 March 8 pp.4-5 The Reality of Rape ***
Rape myths create a false sense of security. In other words, if you can
find some fault in the victim's behavior-she dressed in tight clothing or
she went out alone at night or she really wanted to have sexual
relations-you or your loved ones will be safe if that conduct is avoided;
therefore you will never be raped. The alternative, that rape is a
senseless act of violence that can happen to anybody, regardless of how
she is dressed, is too terrifying to accept.
One woman, raped by someone she thought of as "nice, respectable," pleads:
"The worst possible thing you can do is believe it won't happen to you."
Rape Myths and Realities
The following are some of the long-held misconceptions about rape that
serve to blame the victim and to perpetuate attitudes that encourage the
perpetrators:
Myth: Rape happens only when a woman is attacked by a stranger.
Fact: The majority of women who are raped are assaulted by someone they
know and had trusted. One study found that 84 percent of victims knew
their attackers and that 57 percent of the rapes happened on dates. One
out of 7 married women will be raped by her own husband. Rapes are violent
and emotionally traumatic whether the attacker is a stranger, a spouse, or
a date.
Myth: It's rape only if a woman afterward shows evidence of resistance,
such as bruises.
Fact: Whether they physically resisted or not, few women show visible
evidence, such as bruises or cuts.
Myth: A rape victim bears part of the blame
unless she actively resists.
Fact: Rape by definition takes place when force or the threat of force is
used to gain sexual penetration, of any kind whatsoever, against a
person's will. It is the rapist's use of force against an unwilling victim
that makes him a rapist. Thus, a rape victim is not guilty of fornication.
Like an incest victim, she may be forced to submit to an act she doesn't
want because of the perceived power held over her by another person. When
a woman is forced to submit to a rapist out of terror or disorientation,
it does not mean that she consents to the act. Consent is based on choice
without threat and is active, not passive.
Myth: Rape is an act of passion.
Fact: Rape is an act of violence. Men rape, not solely for sex, but to
feel power over another person.
Myth: A woman can tease or lead a man on to the point that he can no
longer control his sexual urges.
Fact: Men who rape do not have a stronger sex drive than other men have.
Rather, one third of all rapists were unable to complete the sex act. In
most cases rapes are planned acts, not spontaneous urges. Both stranger
and acquaintance rapists usually set up their victims-the stranger by
stalking the victim until she is alone, the acquaintance by arranging a
situation where she is isolated.
Myth: Women lie about rape to get revenge on a man or because they feel
guilty about having sex.
Fact: False reports of rape occur at the same rate as for any other
violent crime: 2 percent. On the other hand, researchers agree that rape
is grossly underreported.
Myth: A woman can "ask" to be raped by wearing provocative clothing,
drinking alcohol, letting a man pay her way, or going to his home.
Fact: Using bad judgment, being naive or ignorant, does not mean that a
woman deserves to be raped. Rapists bear sole responsibility for the rape.
[Footnotes]
"The crime is not about the act of 'sex'
but rather the sexual act is the tool that the perpetrator uses to
commit a violent crime."-Wanda Keyes-Robinson, division chief, Sexual
Offense Unit, Baltimore City, Maryland.
[Emphasis Added]
