George Mason University

Sexual Assault Services

George Mason University is committed to providing an environment where all persons may pursue their studies, careers, duties and activities in an atmosphere free of the threat of unwelcome and unwanted sexual actions. The University strongly condemns sexual offenses and will not tolerate sexual offenders.

MYTH: Only certain "types" of women are raped.

FACT: No woman is safe from a rape attempt. Any woman of any age, race, class religion, occupation, physical disability, sexual identity, or appearance can be raped; rape is a very "democratic" form of violence. Four-month old infants and women in their 90's, women heavily dressed for arctic chill or lightly dressed for summer, have been sexually assaulted. Recent studies indicate one in four women will be sexually assaulted in this country. Current statistics also indicate one in four college women will be sexually assaulted before she graduates.

MYTH: Most rapes are unplanned, spontaneous acts.

FACT: Most rapes (approx. 80%) are wholly or partially planned, (reference M. Amir). About 50% occur in either the victim's or assailant's home. Assailants often "stake out" areas they visit regularly, such as grocery store parking lots, offices, libraries, jogging trails, and laundry rooms. In other words, wherever women are in the world, they are vulnerable. As more survivors speak out about their assaults, we are also learning that 60-80% of all sexual assaults are committed by men known to them. This can range from someone known to them only by sight to individuals with whom they are very close: a best friend, lover or husband. Most assaults of young women are known as "acquaintance rapes."

MYTH: Most rapists do this because they can't have sex any other way.

FACT: Most rapists, according to recent studies, also have "normal" relation- ships with women. They are often in long-term relationships, maybe married and have children. In Koss's study (year), 1 in 12 men admitted to committing acts which met the legal definition of rape.

MYTH: Most rapes are interracial.

FACT: The overwhelming majority - 90% - of sexual assaults involve people of the same race. Because most rapes are between acquaintances, these tend not to be reported; the "system" responds more readily to victims of stranger rape, which most interracial rapes are. Thus FBI and other Justice Department statistics are seriously inaccurate in this area. In addition, media reports tend to play up the race of accused criminals, further encouraging racist misconceptions in our society.

MYTH: Women who party hard, drink and do drugs are setting themselves up to be raped.

FACT: Nobody deliberately "sets up" herself to be raped. Because alcohol and drugs may affect judgment, feelings, perceptions, and lower inhibitions, women may be in a more vulnerable position when they drink. One campus Women's Liaison at a major university was told by members of a fraternity that they watch women's behavior at parties. They assume that women who immediately approach the bar upon arrival are there for sex, regardless of the possibility that some women may feel insecure or shy. Wearing particular clothes, naivete, poor judgment, shyness, even reckless behavior is not a crime: rape is. Sexual assault is the only crime where the relationship between the parties is deemed relevant and the victim's prior behavior is considered relevant provocation. This is not the case in grand theft (even if you left a Rolls Royce in a poverty-stricken area of town) or assault and battery (unless, again, the victim is female).

MYTH: If a woman just relaxes, it will all be over with soon. She might even find it isn't so bad after all.

FACT: No one asks a robbery victim to "relax and enjoy it." Rape is violence using sex as a weapon. Survivors of sexual violence feel very clearly that rape and consensual sex are worlds apart. Rape involves persistent pressure, taking advantage of a person's inability to say "no", calculated drugging with alcohol or other substances, and/or threats, sometimes against the woman's life, or her livelihood, or academic career, or even family members or friends. Many survivors recall being in fear for their lives, even if a weapon was not present. Rape often involves more than "simple" sexual intercourse: assault with foreign objects, sodomy, fellatio, cunnilingus, "train" or gang rape, verbal abuse and other kinds of "slave" behavior (cooking meals, etc.) In Los Angeles, a compilation on data from rape hotline calls revealed the average length of a rape was 3.5 hours.

MYTH: A rapist is easy to spot in a crowd.

FACT: There is nothing about men who rape which distinguishes them from other men, including their psychological profiles. Rapists come from all races, ethnic or socioeconomic groups. They can be large, small, able-bodied or disabled, married or single. What we do know is that rapists almost always identify as heterosexual, even if their victims are male, and they rarely go to jail the first time; in fact, studies of adolescent offenders indicate that most began committing sexual assaults when they were very young.

MYTH: Men can't be sexually assaulted.

FACT: Between one in six and one in ten males are sexually assaulted - mostly by heterosexual men. A majority of male survivors were assaulted when they were children or teenagers, yet adult men can be assaulted as well. Another misconception is that male victims must be gay. Most male survivors are heterosexual, although gay men are assaulted on dates as well. Also, hate violence against gays is on the rise. Like assaults against women, this is a crime of power and violence.

MYTH: Women lie about rape as an act of revenge or guilt.

FACT: A justice of the New York State Supreme Court has said, "False rape charges are not frequently made; only about 2% of all rape and related sex charges are determined to be false-the same as other felonies." FBI statistics support this as well. False claims of auto theft are reported more frequently than those of rape. Only about 5% of all rapists fall into the psychopathic category; the rest are motivated by power or anger.

MYTH: Self-defense just isn't ladylike.

FACT: It may not be ladylike, but it is womanlike. Passive behavior only became a measure of how women should behave in the last few centuries. As anthropologists and historians rediscover more and more about women's history, they find that women have actively resisted male violence since long before the invention of patriarchy.

MYTH: Fighting back incites a rapist to violence.

FACT: Most rapists pick out potential victims they believe may be good targets without a fight. They actually may even test these women nonverbally or verbally before determining whether or not to attack. Recent studies of rape avoidance behavior have shown that the more options a woman knows, the more psychologically ready she is to resist. Both verbal and physical resistance may actually lessen the severity of injury in someinstances. What is most important to remember is that no one can tell another person what is right or wrong in a dangerous situation. Only s/he knows her/his own abilities, can assess the assailant's behavior, and can determine what the possibilities are. Knowing their options may prevent feeling paralyzed by fear, and may also help the survivor understand that submission is also a viable form of self- protection.