Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Misconceptions still exist about rape and sexual assault.
Myth - There are many false reports of rape, especially date rape.
Reality - According to the Department of Justice, fewer than 1 percent of rates reported in Los Angeles County were found to be false reports. In fact, nine out of 10 incidents of rape are never reported.
Myth - Women can easily avoid situations that can lead to rape.
Reality - Most women who have been raped were in an environment they considered safe and were raped by someone they thought they could trust.
Myth - Women are usually raped by someone they don't know.
Reality - More than two out of three women who are raped know their assailant.
Myth - The woman was dressed so provocatively or looked so sexy the man couldn't help himself.
Reality - Though it takes a sexual form, rape is a crime of violence, battery and control, not sex. Sex is used as the weapon.
Myth - Only women are victims of rape.
Reality - Rape is not about sexual orientation or desire - it is an act of power and control in which the victim is brutalized and humiliated. A survey of convicted rapists found that at least half did not care about the sex of their victims; they had raped both men and women. Men account for approximately 5 percent of reported sexual assaults.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Violence Against Women Office; National Sexual Violence Resource Center; FBI; Indiana Campus Sexual Assault Prevention Project.
