|
MYTH |
REALITY |
|
Sex offenders are dirty, old men.
Juvenile sex offenders as well as elderly offenders are part of the
offender population. |
It is not
possible to identify sex offenders by visible characteristics despite many people’s
unconscious hope that it might be that simple. Most offenders are male and can be of any
age. |
|
| Sex offenders
are crazy, homosexual or sexually deprived. |
The majority of
sex offenders are heterosexual and have access to sexual relationships with adults. |
|
| Offenders are
poor, alcoholic and unknown to their victims. |
Sex crimes can
be committed by people of any race, religion, profession and economic group. Generally,
victims are the same race as the offender. Sex offenders are known to their victims in
80-90% of child sexual abuse cases. |
|
| The victims of
sexual abuse are primarily female adolescents who provoke assault by their behavior or
dress. |
Boys, as well
as girls, are at risk for sexual exploita-tion. Victims can be of any age. Children are
vulnerable to sexual exploitation because of their innocence, trust in adults, size,
eagerness to please and need for affection. Offenders often blame the victim and an
uninformed public contributes to this blame-the-victim attitude with comments such as,
"She was hitchhiking," or "She wasn't wearing much." The offender, not
the victim, is at fault for violating the rights of another person. Victims often feel as
though the abuse is their own fault. This self-blame can be very damaging. |
|
| Children lie or
fantasize about sexual relations with adults. |
Children very
rarely make up stories about sexual exploitation. Children speak from their own experience
and cannot make up information unless they are exposed to it. |
|
| Victims of
incest and child sexual abuse are from low social and economic backgrounds. |
Incest and
sexual abuse are problems in all social and economic classes. It crosses racial,
educational and religious boundaries. |
|
| Mothers know
about incestuous relationships within their families. |
In many cases,
the mother of the family does not know. In the cases where she does know, there are a few
recurring facts that explain the silence. Some women are physically abused by the incest
offender. One-third of incest victims' mothers were sexually abused themselves as
children. Most of them do not have a positive self-image and do not feel they could
support the family if the offender were reported. |
|
| Sexual assault
happens at night in unpopulated areas. |
Sexual abuses
occurs at all hours--morning and night--in crowded as well as barren places. Sexual abuse
occurs most frequently in the child’s home. |
|
| Sexual assault
means rape or intercourse. |
Basically,
sexual assault is when one person forces, manipulates or tricks another person into sexual
contact. The term sexual assault is not just rape, nor does it necessarily involve
intercourse. It includes a variety of sex acts such as fondling, oral sex, anal sodomy,
masochism, sadism and verbal or visual stimulation. Exposing is also sexual assault even
though no direct touch is involved. |
Child
Sexual Abuse: Myths and Reality 
