Facts and Myths

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Facts about Sexual Violence

• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. (World Health Organization, 2016) (1in6 Project, 2016)
• Alcohol is involved in 50% of sexual assaults, making it the most used weapon by the person causing harm. (Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, 2012)
• The person who caused harm is known to the survivor 80% of the time. (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2009)
• 83% of disabled women will experience sexual violence in their life time. (DAWN Canada, 2006)
• Indigenous women are 3 times more likely to experience sexual violence compared to non-Indigenous women. (General Survey on Victimization, 2014)
• 47% of transgender people are sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime. (US Transgender Survey, 2015)

Rape Myths

If the survivor didn't fight back, they wanted it.

• No. No one ever wants to be assaulted and it is never the survivor's fault. Not fighting back is just one of the many ways the brain deals with trauma.

Sex workers can’t be assaulted because they are selling sex.

• No. Being a sex worker does not mean they consent to any or all sexual contact. Sex workers can be assaulted like anyone else.

Men can’t be assaulted, they always want sex.

• No. Men, like all people, can be and are assaulted and don’t always want sex.

If they were drunk or wearing revealing clothes then they were asking to be assaulted.

• No. No one wants to be assaulted and nothing anyone ever does welcomes assault.

You can’t be assaulted if you’ve had sexual contact with the person before or are in a relationship with them.

• No. Consent for sexual contact once does not mean consent for the future. Consent is an ongoing agreement to sexual contact that is given freely and not pressured to be given. Just because you are in a relationship with someone does not mean they have any right over your body.