Sexual assault myths & realities

Home: Workers: Medical and Dental Workers: Beyond sexual assault

Myths enforce the silence that surrounds childhood sexual abuse (CSA) & recent sexual assault within the community. They fulfill a number of roles:

mask the incidence of CSA
blame the victim
protect the perpetrator/offender
emphasize the vulnerability of women & children

Myth 1: CSA is an unusual occurrence.

CSA rates are still high and remain largely unreported.

Myth 2: Children lie about sexual abuse.

Research indicates that false allegations make up approximately 0.1% of all allegations.

"I told when I was young but no one believed me - he was such a nice man." ₅

Myth 3: CSA is not harmful to children.

Children who have been sexually abused display significant problems including aggressive behaviour, depression, social withdrawal and emotional problems. Adult survivors experience depression, low self-esteem, difficulty in forming relationships and sexual problems.

Myth 4: Children are seductive and provoke men to abuse them.

Takes responsibility for abuse away from the adult and places it onto the child. Children are relatively powerless. The myth doesn't recognise that children's behaviour is learnt from adults and that in the case of CSA, offenders usually groom their victims. Adults always retain a choice.

Myth 5: Sexual abuse only happens to children who ask for it.

Children do not ask to be sexually abused. Perpetrators carefully choose the children they abuse; a child who is seeking affection from adults; a child who is very obedient and unlikely to tell anyone; or a child who may not be believed if they tell.

Myth 6: Sexual assault is an unusual occurrence and rape is rare.

Sexual assault is all too common. Sexual harassment such as leering, touching, pinching and suggestive remarks is an everyday occurrence for many women. One out of ten women will be raped during their lifetime. _{6 -7}

Myth 7: Women are raped by strangers lurking in dark streets.

The vast majority of sexual assault victims know the offender. The Crime Safety Survey (ABS, 1998) found that more than 80% of victims knew the offender in the most recent incident. In addition, over half (58%) of all incidents reported to the Crime Safety Survey took place in the home.

Sponsor

SECASA