Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is the most committed and most under reported of all violent crime.
U.S. rape crisis centers report that only 1 in 100 of the victims they work with report the offense to law enforcement. Many victims fear retribution from the attacker, feel that is a private matter or somehow believe it is their fault. Sexual assault is not “sex gone wrong”, it is not an uncontrollable impulse crime. Men are not primal animals who are not in control of themselves. Being drunk and/or turned on is not an excuse for assault or rape. It is a premeditated crime. The attacker chooses his victim, isolates and intimidates her. The assailant is 100% responsible for his actions! Only about one third of the attackers are strangers. According to one study done by the U.S. Bureau if Justice Statistics 28% of victims are victims of domestic abuse, 35% by acquaintances and 5% by other relatives. This fact may contribute to the lack of reporting to law enforcement. Here are some stats regarding rape and sexual assault; these are also from the U.S. Department of Justice. One in four assaults happen in public places, such as parking garages, the rest, in residences. 68% occur between 6:00pm and 6:00am. 45% of attackers are under the influence of drugs or alcohol (probably no big surprise on those last two). Weapons were used in 29%. In 47% cases the victim was injured in addition to the rape injuries, with 75% of the victims requiring medical attention. The FBI estimated that one third of all sexual assaults are reported to the police. Of course that statistic has to be hard to pin down. One could blather endlessly about statistics, but if it happens to you or someone you know, there is not a lot of comfort there. According to one government study intended victims who physically defend themselves are four times more likely to escape, than those who did not. Does that mean you need to resist and fight? No. That is a judgment reserved only for the victim at the time of the attack. It’s easy to speculate looking back, but at the time, only the victim can make that decision. Which brings us to the blame game. Many victims hold themselves to blame. Did I dress provocatively? Did I behave in such a manner to invite it? Should I have fought harder? While it’s true that practicing personal safety and awareness techniques can reduce the opportunities for any attack to occur, it can still happen. Most victims are chosen and targeted. Some predators are very skilled at deception. Make no mistake, the only one to blame is the attacker. No one deserves to be raped. There is no behavior that has the natural consequence of sexual assault. The victim did not consent to it. The attacker ignores the victim’s wishes and violates her body for his own gratification. Sexual assault can be a life changing event. Besides the obvious physical pain and injury, there are trust issues that may never resolve, considering most attackers are known to the victims. There are also sexually transmitted diseases to consider and the possibility of pregnancy. This is not a just a sexual offense, it is a crime of violence. I have generally referred to the attackers as a male and the victim as a female for the sake of the subject of this website. But, yes, the victim can be a male- very young to old and the attacker can be a female.
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