Rape Myths
Rape myths are false beliefs regarding sexual assault. Often, beliefs surrounding circumstances, situations, and characteristics of individuals are connected to rape and then, are applied to all cases and situations uncritically. Myths exist to perpetuate: structural conditions, gender-role expectations, and power in a patriarchal society. These myths are grounded in a learned system wherein consensual sex is tied closely with power (Chapleu & Oswald, 2010). So it is best to acknowledge that rape myths exist and become better educated in regards to their reality. Looking at rape myths sociologically means reconsidering the data on the basis of fact (Hamlin, 2011).
PerceptionRape is sex.
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RealityRape is a life-threatening event experienced by victims as an act of violence. While sexual attraction may be influential, power, control and anger are the primary motives. Temporary gratification comes from gaining power and control and discharging anger.
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Women intice men to rape.
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Research has found that the vast majority of rapes are planned. Women, children and men of every age, physical type and demeanor are raped. Rape is the responsibility of the rapist alone and opportunity is the most important factor determining when they will strike.
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There is a "right way" to respond to a rape situation.
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Since rape is life-threatening and each rapist has their own pattern, the best thing a victim can do is follow their instincts and observe any cues from the rapist. If the victim escapes alive they have done the right thing.
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A victim should be discouraged from dwelling on the rape. They should just "forget it."
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This advice generally comes from people who are more concerned with their own feelings than the victim's. All victims should be offered the opportunity to talk about the assault with those personally close to them and knowledgeable professionals. Victims who are not allowed to talk about the rape have a much more difficult time recovering form it.
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Support from family members is essential to the victim's recovery.
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Emotional and practical support offered by family and friends does not always speed the recovery of rape victims. However, when the people that a victim relies on behave in unsupportive or negative ways, the victim faces a longer, more difficult recovery process. Negative behaviors include worrying more about oneself, blaming the victim, withdrawing from the victim or behaving in a hostile manner, and attaching stigma to the rape.
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Rape trauma syndrome is a transient problem. Most healthy people will return to a normal state of functioning within a year.
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Surviving a rape can lead someone to a better understanding of their own strength, but rape is a life changing experience. Rape has a devastating effect on the mental health of victims, with nearly one-third (31%) of all rape victims developing Rape-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (RR-PTSD). More than one in ten rape victims currently suffer from RR-PTSD.
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Rapists are non-white. Rapists are lower class. Rapists are "Criminal types."
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Rapists that fit the myth are more likely to be prosecuted but a rapist can be anyone: doctor, policeman, clergyman, social worker, corporate president, etc.
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Men can't be raped.
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There were approximately 20,000 sexual assaults of males ages 12 and over
in the United States in 1991. |
Incest is rare.
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Incest is common and happens in every community. An estimated 77% of reported sexual abusers are parents (57% of the total being natural parents), 16% are other relatives, and 6% are non-related. In addition, males are reported to be the abusers in 60 to 95% of cases.
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Sexual assaults are rare deviations and affect few people. After all, no one I know has been raped.
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Sexual assaults are very common. Most likely, someone close to you has been profoundly affected by sexual assault. Not only are victims reluctant to discuss their assaults but the trauma remains and may come to the surface at another crisis or when the opportunity to discuss it with a sympathetic person arises. An estimated 155,000 women were raped each year between 1973 and 1987.
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Women often make false reports of rape.
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During the 1990s around 8% of rape complaints determined through
investigation to be false. It is higher for forcible rape than for any other Index crime. Eight percent of forcible rape complaints in 1996 were “unfounded,” while the average for all Index crimes was 2%. |
You can tell a rapist by the way he looks.
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Rapists are not physically identifiable. They may appear friendly, normal, and non-threatening. Many are young, married and have children. Rapist types and traits however can be categorized.
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Women fantasize about being raped.
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No woman fantasizes about being raped. Fantasies about aggressive sex may
be controlled and turned off if they become threatening. In rape, the victim is unable to control the violence and stop it. |
A man can't rape his wife.
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Many states now have laws against rape in marriage. The idea that a man
can't rape his wife suggests married women do not have the same right to safety as do unmarried women. Most battered women have experienced some form of sexual abuse within their marriage. It is also known that estranged or ex-spouses sometimes use rape as a form of retaliation. |
Only "bad" women get raped.
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No other crime victim is looked upon with the degree of suspicion and doubt as a victim of rape. Although there are numerous reasons why society has cast blame on the victims of rape, a major reason found in studies is that of a feeling of self protection. If one believes that the victim was responsible because she put herself in an unsafe position, then we are able to feel safer because "we wouldn't do those things."
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Rape is just unwanted sex and isn't really a violent crime.
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Rape is a lot more than an unwanted sex act; it is a violent crime. Many
rapists carry a weapon and threaten the victim with violence or death. |
Rape only occurs outside and at night.
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Rape can and does occur anytime and anyplace. Many rapes occur during the
day and in the victims' homes. |
Sexual assault is an impulsive, spontaneous act.
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Most rapes are carefully planned by the rapist. A rapist will rape again
and again, usually in the same area of town and in the same way. |
Sexual assault usually occurs between strangers.
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Over 70% of rape victims know their attackers. The rapist may be a relative, friend, co-worker, date or other acquaintance.
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Rape only happens to young attractive women.
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Rape can and does strike anyone at anytime. Age, social class, ethnic group and has no bearing on the person a rapist chooses to attack. Research data clearly proves that a way a woman dresses and/or acts does not influence the rapists choice of victims. Rapists are looking for available and vulnerable targets.
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Rape is a crime of passion.
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Rape is an act of violence, not passion. it is an attempt to hurt and humiliate, using sex as the weapon.
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Most rapes occur as a "spur of the moment" act in a dark alley by a stranger.
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Rape often occurs in one's home - be it apartment, house or dormitory. Very often the rapist is known by the victim in some way and the rape is carefully planned.
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Most rapists only rape one time.
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Most rapists rape again, and again, and again - until caught.
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Only women and gay men get raped.
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The vast majority of male rape victims, as well as their rapists, are heterosexual. Rapists are motivated by the desire to have power and control over another person, not by sexual
attraction. Male rape is not homosexual rape. Many male victims do not report the assault because they fear further humiliation.
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Rape is an impulsive, uncontrollable act of sexual gratification. Most rapes are spontaneous acts of passion where the assailant cannot control him/herself.
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Rape is a premeditated act of violence, not a spontaneous act of passion. 71% of rapes are planned in advance. 60% of convicted rapists were married or had regular sexual partners at the time of the assault. The vast majority of rapists are motivated by power, anger, and control, not sexual gratification.
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If the assailant, victim, or both are drunk, the assailant can not be held responsible.
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Forcing sex on someone who is too drunk to give consent is serious offense in many regions of the United States. In some places it carries a prison sentence varrying in years. Rape is a crime and people who commit crimes while under the influence of alcohol or drugs are not considered free from guilt.
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Rapists are abnormal perverts; only sick or insane men are rapists.
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Very few convicted offenders are diagnosed as mentally or emotionally ill. Most are well-adjusted but have a greater tendency to express their anger through violence and rage.
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Rape is a minor crime affecting only a few women.
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It is estimated that 1 in 8 women will be raped in her lifetime. Because of low reporting rates, it is not known how many adult men are assaulted. It is also estimated that 1 out of every 4 girls, and 1 out of every 8
boys are sexually assaulted in some way before they reach adulthood. Rape is
the most frequently committed violent crime in this country.
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You cannot be assaulted against your will.
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Assailants overpower their victims with the threat of violence or with actual violence. Especially in cases of acquaintance rape or incest, an assailant often uses the victim's trust in the assailent to isolate the victim.
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Women secretly enjoy being raped.
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No woman/man/child enjoys being raped. It is a brutal intrusion on the mind, body and spirit that can have lasting trauma.
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It is impossible for a husband to sexually assault his wife.
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Regardless of marital or social relationship, if a woman does not consent
to sexual activity, she is being sexually assaulted. In fact, 14% of women are victims of rape committed by their husband. |
If a person doesn't "fight back" she/he wasn't really raped.
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Rape is potentially life-threatening. Whatever a person does to survive
the assault is the appropriate action. |
A person who has really been assaulted will be hysterical.
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Survivors exhibit a spectrum of emotional responses to assault: calm, hysteria, laughter, anger, apathy, shock. Each survivor copes with the trauma of the assault in a different way.
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Women "cry" rape.
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Only two percent of reported rape and related sex offences are false (which is approximately the same rate of false reports for other crimes). Although many cases are dropped because of insufficient evidence for conviction, this should not be confused with false reporting.
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Gang rape is rare.
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In 43% of all reported cases, more than one assailant was involved.
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Women who are drunk are willing to engage in any kind of sexual activity.
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The fact that a woman has been drinking does not imply consent. Alcohol
and drugs can render a woman incapable of consent. |
Only young, pretty women are assaulted.
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Survivors range in age from infancy to old age, and their appearance is
seldom a consideration. Assailants often choose victims who seem most vulnerable to attack: old persons, children, physically or emotionally disabled persons, substance abusers and street persons. Men are also attacked. |
It is impossible to sexually assault a man.
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Men fall victim for the same reasons as women: they are overwhelmed by
threats or acts of physical and emotional violence. Also, most sexual assaults that involve a male victim are gang assaults. |
As long as children remember to stay away from strangers, they are in no danger of being assaulted.
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Children are usually assaulted by acquaintances; a family member or other caretaking adult. Children are usually coerced into sexual activity by their assailant, and are manipulated into silence by the assailant's threats and/or promises, as well as their own feelings of guilt.
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Most rapes involve black men raping white women.
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The majority of rapes are same race; somewhere around 3 to 4% are not same
race. |
(Hamlin, 2001)