Myth: Any woman who agrees to be alone with a man deserves to get raped.
Fact: No one, male or female, deserves to be raped, no matter what the situation.
 
Myth: Women who do not fight back haven’t really been raped.
Fact: If you have been forced to have sex against your will, you have been raped.
 
Myth: If no weapon was used, you were not raped.
Fact: A rapist may use his fists, verbal threats, isolation – anything that will work to overpower you.
 
Myth: Agreeing to some sexual contact means a woman has agreed to intercourse.
Fact: Everyone has the right to say “no” if they choose not to continue sexual activity, regardless of what has already occurred.
 
Myth: A husband cannot rape his wife.
Fact: In 1984, New York State courts declared marital rape a criminal offense.
 
Myth: Males cannot be raped.
Fact: 1 out of 7 males are sexually assaulted by the time they reach adulthood.*

* U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1992

Remember, it is never the victim who causes the rape.