Date Rape Myths and Facts

Myth:

Rape is only committed by strangers in dark alleys and parking lots.
Fact:

As many as 84 percent of women are raped by someone they know, such as friends, family or an acquaintance.
Myth:

If a woman is raped, then she must have deserved it, especially if she agreed to go to the man's room or wore sexy clothing.
Fact:

No one deserves to be raped. Being in a man's room or wearing revealing clothing does not mean a woman has agreed to have sex.
Myth:

Women who don't physically fight back haven't been raped.
Fact:

If a woman did not or could not consent to having sex, it is considered rape. Forcing a woman to have sex against her will, whether she physically fights back or not, is rape, plain and simple.
Myth:

If there isn't a weapon involved, you haven't been raped.
Fact:

Whether the man uses a weapon, his fists, the weight of his body, verbal threats, drugs, alcohol, or takes advantage of a woman's diminished physical or mental state to force her to have sex, it is rape.
Myth:

It's not rape if the man is her boyfriend or husband or if they have had sex before.
Fact:

A woman has the right to decide what she does with her body at all times - if she does not want to have sex, it is her decision, even if she willingly had sex with the man before.