"Sexual assault" refers to a wide variety of behavior including rape, incest, child sexual assault, ritual abuse, date and acquaintance rape, statutory rape, marital or partner rape, sexual exploitation, sexual contact, sexual harassment, exposure, and voyeurism. (PA Coalition Against Rape) The perpetrator can be a total stranger, an intimate partner, an acquaintance, or a family member.
Sexual violence can happen to anyone — regardless of gender, race, age, socio-economic status, or religion. Victims of sexual assault include infants, people in their eighties, people of color, lesbians/gays, disabled individuals, women, men, and children. It is estimated that one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually assaulted by the age of 18.
Despite the vast amount of information that is available concerning sexual assault, myths surrounding rape and other forms of sexual violence continue to survive in our culture. Sometimes, these myths serve a special social purpose – belief that rape only happens to certain types of people or in certain types of situations may provide a sense of security. People want to believe that they live in a safe world and that they are not vulnerable to rape. However, myths prevent a true understanding of the realities of rape and sexual assault and may increase vulnerability instead of safety.
Even people who are empathetic and sensitive toward the survivor may have difficulty distinguishing between consensual sex between two people and the criminal act of rape. Rape is a traumatic event. It is a crime of violence that deprives an individual of power, autonomy and control over one’s body — it occurs without consent. It humiliates, shatters self-esteem and leaves one to face the possibility of pregnancy, sexually transmissible diseases, physical injuries, loss of time from school or work, and rejection by family and friends. The emotional effects suffered by a sexual assault survivor cover a broad spectrum, including intense fear, extreme confusion, guilt and a loss of identity.
Sexual violence is NEVER the victim's fault. It doesn't matter how the victim was dressed, if the victim was drinking or using drugs, out at night alone, homosexual, on a date with the perpetrator, etc. -- no one asks to be raped. The responsibility and blame lie with the perpetrator, never with the victim.
The absence of injuries often suggests to others that the victim failed to resist and, therefore, must have consented. Often, rapists only need the threat of violence to control their victims. They also sometimes use "date rape" drugs to incapacitate their victims.
Some victims submit to the assault for fear of greater harm. Submitting does not mean the victim gave consent. Each rape victim does whatever s/he needs to do at the time in order to survive.
