misconceptions of sexual misconduct, rape, assault, etc.

So when me too happened there were a lot of misconceptions. Some were based on misinformation and others were made because of what we believe about sex. Let's get into them.

The start with the biggest one which any kind of sexual misconduct only happen to women. While it mainly happens to women it can also happen to men believe or not. It's not as common in men but it happens. Around 1% of men have been the victims of assault that's comparable to 18% of women. Men usually don't report their assault because they may think it will make them be looked at as less of a men. People also believe that only men assault and rape. Women do this too but it's a stereotype that they don't.

One that came with the me too movement is that most of the survivors are lying about what happened. False reports make up about 2 and 10% of all reports of sexual assaults. It's hard to tell who is lying but it's more likely that someone is telling the truth. There are those who are out to ruin lives/reputations or are looking for attention. To go with this there's some people that believe if you don't report it then you are lying. Sometimes people have a reason not to report it like there is no proof.

People think that assault happens because of alcohol and what women wear. If you can't drink without assaulting someone maybe you shouldn't drink. If alcohol was the reason that assault happens there would be more assaults. To blame people being drunk for the assault is beyond wrong. People also get drunk consent then after they sober up they say it's assault which sadly you can't do anything about.

Just because women wear revealing clothes doesn't mean that they're asking for it. People always ask assault victims what they were wearing, does it matter? People should wear what they want without worrying about what may happen. Plus shouldn't adults be able to control themselves around other people? We don't wear clothes to tempt men yes the attention is nice but we don't want to be in fear of assault.

One huge misconception is that the victim wanted it at least a little bit. We as humans don't want things that are bad or violating, assault is both. Plus if we wanted it, it wouldn't be assault. Consent and wanting it is what separates sex from assault. People think that women say it's rape or assault because we are embarrassed by their actions. This may be true for some women and maybe that's why they lie but that's not true for all women.

There was one misconception I even believed and it's that most victims don't know their rapist. 56% of people surveyed at knew the person that assaulted them. Maybe they were raped because the person they were in a relationship wanted sex no matter what, there's of course of other reasons.

There's also people that think that to avoid assault people need to avoid dangerous situations or places. Assault can happen anywhere and at anytime. Someone could break into your house and assault you. You don't have to be in a dangerous place or situation to be raped or assaulted.

People (probably mostly rapists) believe it's only rape if you resist. Resistance is part of saying no but it's not all of it. No is also words and silence. Silence is not a yes or consent. Assault, a lot of the time, is not a misunderstanding. It happens for a lot of different reasons and a lot of times the reason is the consent was not there. Maybe it's a misunderstanding of consent.

Most people think that sexual assault or rape won't happen to them or anyone they know. I wish that were true but with the way the world it is now there will probably be more assaults and rapes. Rape happens every 5 minutes in America so there is chance that you or someone you know will be a victim.

So these were the main ones, there's others out there of course. I want you to educate yourself about sexual misconduct issues. This probably will never go away so wee need to learn about it.