| Dangerous Myths About Rape |
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Dangerous myths about rapePredators may not look and act like we expectThe most prominent images of rapists as seedy, threatening characters lurking in the dark are far from the truth in most cases. Police and safety experts say, because of these myths, many woman let down their caution at times when they need it most. Elizabeth Houde, President and CEO of the Arizona Sexual Assault Network (ASAN), says, “When you hear the term sex offender, you'll immediately think of the middle age man who jumped out of a bush, abducted a little girl, raped her and killed her, something along that line.” She says most sex crimes are not committed by that type of person. Rather, she says, “This is someone that's in your family. This is someone that's next door to you that's committing the majority of these crimes.” Sgt. Jim Starkey, with the Phoenix Police sex crimes unit, estimates 60 to 70 percent of the sexual assaults his detectives investigate involve an assault by someone the victim knew.
Hilary Peele’s case does not happen to fit into that category. But when she was raped in 2004, it dispelled what she believes is the biggest myth: “That it can’t happen to me.” Peele says many women feel that way because they avoid parties and risky places, and stay at home with doors and windows locked. She what she had done the night a stranger broke into her Tempe apartment and raped her. Peele and Houde point to other myths that are common. Some people think it’s mainly young women who are attacked, but sexual assault can happen to the elderly, to juveniles and even to men. Another myth is that the victim must have done something wrong, either inviting the attack or not being careful enough. Peele says, “I still get questions about what I would have done differently” even though she took all the logical precautions. Some information on the internet suggests that women who wear their hair a certain way or wear certain kinds of clothing are more likely to be the target of a predator, and that most rapes occur during a span of a few hours late at night. Houde, Peele and Markey agree, there are no such predictors of the risk of sexual assault. Houde says another myth about rape ignores the violence and assumes it is simply about sex. She says that myth is wrong on both counts. Peele agrees with Houde, that rape is not about sex. But she says this myth is one of the hardest for a rape survivor to overcome—because of what they have lost.
What goes on in the mind of a rapist? How could he be a brutal attacker in one situation, and a charming person who seems very normal at other times? Hear from a veteran sex crimes investigator and a forensic psychologist who have talked with many sex offenders in trying to answer those questions. Watch another Mark Curtis special report “The Mind of a Rapist” Wednesday night on 12 News at 10. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
