Myths & Facts
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MYTH: People are usually sexually assaulted by strangers
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MYTH: Rape is an act committed by someone who is mentally ill
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MYTH: Only attractive girls are raped
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MYTH: Rape doesn't have to happen. If you resist, you won't get raped
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MYTH: Women often make false accusations of rape
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MYTH: Rape is a well reported crime
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MYTH: Sexual violence only happens to an unfortunate few
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MYTH: Child sexual abuse is a rare occurrence
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MYTH: Most children are abused by strangers
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MYTH: Boys are not sexually abused
MYTHS ABOUT SEXUAL VIOLENCE MAY MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR SURVIVORS TO ASK FOR HELP
FACT: Some 86.6 % of people who commit sexual assaults are known to their victims, with 32.1% being family members or relatives and 34% being acquaintances, friends or neighbours. Rape Crisis Network National Statistics 2008 (See page 4)
IMPACT: 56% of Rape Crisis Centre clients who were sexually abused by a stranger reported the abuse to the Gardaí, while only 15% of those who were sexually abused by a relative reported. Rape Crisis Network National Statistics 2007 (See page 15)
FACT: Rapists are men of all ages and from all walks of life. A US study of 646 convicted rapists found that they were no more psychologically disturbed than those who had committed robberies or assaults (Amir, M. (1971) Patterns of forcible Rape. Chicago: University of Chicago Press).
IMPACT: Victims are often not believed because the rapists do not fit the stereotype – they seem such 'normal' or 'decent' people.
FACT: All women face the possibility of rape. Interviews with rapists confirm that the woman's looks was not important to them.
FACT: All rapists use tactics of intimidation and fear. A common reaction is to freeze. Not fighting back or submitting can be a survival response. The rapist is in control of how he acts, the victim is always reacting to the rapist.
IMPACT: Survivors blame themselves. If they have no bruises, cuts or injuries to show, they question whether they were really raped. Society and the justice system questions the survivor's actions.
FACT: Reporting sexual abuse involves complex, invasive and sometimes traumatic procedures. Women who have been subjected to sexual abuse are often treated with suspicion and disbelief. This makes it unlikely that a woman would make and stick with a false accusation of rape.
FACT: Only 10% to 20% of cases are reported to the police. In the Rape Crisis Network National Statistics 2007, (See page 15) just under 18% of survivors reported the sexual violence to the Gardaí. Fear of not being believed, of hurting loved ones (for example, if the rapist is a family member), or fear of the attacker, can cause a survivor not to report. Also, many victims simply try to forget it ever happened.
IMPACT: Low reporting leads to a denial of the scale of the problem in our society and rapists continue to get away with it in huge numbers.
FACT: Irish research has found that one in five adult women and one in 10 adult men experience sexual violence. (The SAVI Report, Prof. Hannah Magee et al, Royal College of Surgeons, Liffey Press, 2002)
IMPACT: Denying the scale of the problem isolates the victim and empowers the perpetrator.
MYTH: Child sexual abuse is a rare occurrence.
FACT: Irish research in 2002 found that over 20% of Irish women and 16% of Irish men had experienced contact sexual abuse in childhood. Another 10% of women and 7% of men had experienced non-contact abuse. (The SAVI Report, McGee et al., Liffey Press, 2002).
IMPACT: Survivors, feeling that what happened to them is rare and therefore ‘shameful’ or on the other hand not ‘bad enough’, live in silence, do not disclose and do not seek support or help.
MYTH: Most children are abused by strangers.
FACT: Some 93.8% of survivors, who attended a Rape Crisis Centre in 2008 following childhood abuse, reported they had known the abuser. In 50.8% of cases, the abuser was a family member or relative, and in 34% of cases the abuser was an acquaintance, friend or neighbour. Rape Crisis Network National Statistics 2008 (See page 5)
IMPACT: Survivors who knew the abusers, are the least likely to tell anyone and to seek support and help.
MYTH: Boys are not sexually abused.
FACT: In 2008, 15.2% of Rape Crisis Centre clients were male. The SAVI Report found that 60% of young men who had experienced child sexual abuse had never told anyone before telling the researcher. (The SAVI Report, McGee et al., Liffey Press, 2002).
IMPACT: Men and boys find it particularly hard to ask for help and abusers continue to get away with it.