Myths, Facts, Statistics

FACTS ABOUT SEX TRAFFICKING
from the International Justice Mission

*Human trafficking is the world’s third largest criminal enterprise, after drugs and weapons. (U.S. Department of State)
*Worldwide, there are nearly two million children in the commercial sex trade. (UNICEF)
*There are an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 children, women and men trafficked across international borders annually. (U.S. Department of State)
*Approximately 80 percent of human trafficking victims are women and girls, and up to 50 percent are minors. (U.S. Department of State)
*The total market value of illicit human trafficking is estimated to be in excess of $32 billion. (United Nations)
*Sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic. (U.S. Department of State)

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE
from Nicole Braddock Bromley

MYTH: Occurrences of childhood sexual abuse and incest are very rare. “It has never and will never happen to me or my family.”
FACT: It is more common than we would like to believe. It is estimated that over one million children under the age of 18 are currently being sexually abused by at least one of their family members. National studies have revealed that at a given time, approximately 35% of kids less than 18 years of age had been molested.

MYTH: Sexual abuse of children is most often committed by a stranger.
FACT: 4 out of 5 cases of childhood sexual abuse are committed by someone that the child knows. Research has shown up to 85% of abusers are related to the child they abuse.

MYTH: It is very rare for a boy to be abused. Girls are usually the only victims of sexual abuse.
FACT: Once reaching adulthood, male victims are less likely to speak-out about the abuse that occurred in their childhood, so the majority of reported victims are female. But we must remember that an 8-year old boy is just as powerless as an 8-year old girl to the deception of a perpetrator. It is estimated that 1 in every 3 girls, and 1 in every 6 boys, will be the victims of sexual abuse involving touching by their 18th birthday.

MYTH: Sexual abusers are dirty, old men.
FACT: 90% of victims somehow know their abuser. The reality is that most sex abuse is committed by a father, stepfather, aunt, uncle, other family member, family friend, teacher, babysitter, clergy, etc. The average age of a perpetrator is 32.

MYTH: Sexual abusers are sexually attracted to the child they molest.
FACT: It is not about the sex; it is about the abuse. It is about power, control, the acting out of anger, frustration, or drunkenness. It is a stronger person taking advantage of, and imposing feelings on, a weaker person. Children, that cannot understand what sex is, can understand issues of power and the feeling of being powerless.

MYTH: Childhood sexual abuse committed by a family member is usually a one-time occurrence.
FACT: Actually, victims of incest must endure many, many long years of abuse. In most cases, the abuse will continue until there is some type of intervention.

MYTH: Those who state they were molested are only making up stories.
FACT: Only an estimated 1% of reported cases are false, and even in these cases, the situations are still unhealthy ones.

MYTH: Childhood Sexual Abuse only occurs in poor, uneducated neighborhoods.
FACT: Sexual abuse equally cuts across all boundaries: Christian and non-Christian, black and white, rich and poor, male and female, and all cultural, educational and socioeconomic levels.

MYTH: Talking to children about sexual abuse will only frighten them.
FACT: In order to protect children, it is vital for them to receive information about sexual abuse. Deciding to not discuss these issues at all is more damaging to a child than the risk of frightening them, or even giving them incorrect information.

MYTH: The child is somehow responsible for the abuse.
FACT: The child is NEVER, under any circumstances, responsible for the abuse. It is the adult who chooses to abuse the child. This may be the most important fact to remember: No matter what the abuser, or anyone says, it is NEVER the victim’s fault!

MYTH: All victims of sexual abuse become abusers themselves in adulthood.
FACT: While there is a cycle of abuse, by no means is a survivor of sexual abuse predestined to become an abuser in adulthood. Herein lies the importance of the healing process and the emotional road to recovery.

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT SEXUAL ABUSE OF BOYS AND MEN
from www.MaleSurvivor.org
(Adapted from a presentation at the 5th International Conference on Incest and Related Problems, Biel, Switzerland, August 14, 1991.)

MYTH: Boys and men can’t be victims.
FACT: This myth, instilled through masculine gender socialization and sometimes referred to as the “macho image,” declares that males, even young boys, are not supposed to be victims or even vulnerable. We learn very early that males should be able to protect themselves. In truth, boys are children - weaker and more vulnerable than their perpetrators - who cannot really fight back. Why? The perpetrator has greater size, strength, and knowledge. This power is exercised from a position of authority, using resources such as money or other bribes, or outright threats - whatever advantage can be taken to use a child for sexual purposes.

MYTH: Most sexual abuse of boys is perpetrated by homosexual males
FACT: Pedophiles who molest boys are not expressing a homosexual orientation any more than pedophiles who molest girls are practicing heterosexual behaviors. While many child molesters have gender and/or age preferences, of those who seek out boys, the vast majority are not homosexual. They are pedophiles.

MYTH: If a boy experiences sexual arousal or orgasm from abuse, this means he was a willing participant or enjoyed it.
FACT: In reality, males can respond physically to stimulation (get an erection) even in traumatic or painful sexual situations. Therapists who work with sexual offenders know that one way a perpetrator can maintain secrecy is to label the child’s sexual response as an indication of his willingness to participate. “You liked it, you wanted it,” they’ll say. Many survivors feel guilt and shame because they experienced physical arousal while being abused. Physical (and visual or auditory) stimulation is likely to happen in a sexual situation. It does not mean that the child wanted the experience or understood what it meant at the time.

MYTH: Boys are less traumatized by the abuse experience than girls.
FACT: While some studies have found males to be less negatively affected, more studies show that long term effects are quite damaging for either sex. Males may be more damaged by society’s refusal or reluctance to accept their victimization, and by their resultant belief that they must “tough it out” in silence.

MYTH: Boys abused by males are or will become homosexual.
FACT: While there are different theories about how the sexual orientation develops, experts in the human sexuality field do not believe that premature sexual experiences play a significant role in late adolescent or adult sexual orientation. It is unlikely that someone can make another person a homosexual or heterosexual. Sexual orientation is a complex issue and there is no single answer or theory that explains why someone identifies himself as homosexual, heterosexual or bi-sexual. Whether perpetrated by older males or females, boys’ or girls’ premature sexual experiences are damaging in many ways, including confusion about one’s sexual identity and orientation.

Many boys who have been abused by males erroneously believe that something about them sexually attracts males, and that this may mean they are homosexual or effeminate. Again, not true. Pedophiles who are attracted to boys will admit that the lack of body hair and adult sexual features turns them on. The pedophile’s inability to develop and maintain a healthy adult sexual relationship is the problem - not the physical features of a sexually immature boy.

MYTH: The “Vampire Syndrome” - that is, boys who are sexually abused, like the victims of Count Dracula, go on to “bite” or sexually abuse others.
FACT: This myth is especially dangerous because it can create a terrible stigma for the child, that he is destined to become an offender. Boys might be treated as potential perpetrators rather than victims who need help. While it is true that most perpetrators have histories of sexual abuse, it is NOT true that most victims go on to become perpetrators. Research by Jane Gilgun, Judith Becker and John Hunter found a primary difference between perpetrators who were sexually abused and sexually abused males who never perpetrated: non-perpetrators told about the abuse, and were believed and supported by significant people in their lives. Again, the majority of victims do not go on to become adolescent or adult perpetrators; and those who do perpetrate in adolescence usually don’t perpetrate as adults if they get help when they are young.

MYTH: If the perpetrator is female, the boy or adolescent should consider himself fortunate to have been initiated into heterosexual activity.
FACT: In reality, premature or coerced sex, whether by a mother, aunt, older sister, baby-sitter or other female in a position of power over a boy, causes confusion at best, and rage, depression or other problems in more negative circumstances. To be used as a sexual object by a more powerful person, male or female, is always abusive and often damaging.

Believing these myths is dangerous and damaging. So long as society believes these myths, and teaches them to children from their earliest years, sexually abused males will be unlikely to get the recognition and help they need. So long as society believes these myths, sexually abused males will be more likely join the minority of survivors who perpetuate this suffering by abusing others.
So long as boys or men who have been sexually abused believe these myths, they will feel ashamed and angry.

And so long as sexually abused males believe these myths they reinforce the power of another devastating myth that all abused children struggle with: that it was their fault. It is never the fault of the child in a sexual situation - though perpetrators can be quite skilled at getting their victims to believe these myths and take on responsibility that is always and only their own.

For any male who has been sexually abused, becoming free of these myths is an essential part of the recovery process.

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT
from the Voices and Faces Project

Myths about sexual assault persist, and they are damaging to survivors and dangerous in a civil society that needs to better understand sexual violence and its impact on our communities.

MYTH: Sexual assault is a crime of passion and lust.
FACT: Sexual assault is a crime of violence. Assailants seek to dominate, humiliate and punish their victims.

MYTH: You cannot be assaulted against your will.
FACT: Assailants overpower their victims with the threat of violence or with actual violence. Especially in cases of acquaintance rape or incest, an assailant often uses the victim’s trust in him to isolate her.

MYTH: It is impossible for a husband to sexually assault his wife.
FACT: Regardless of marital or social relationship, if a woman does not consent to sexual activity, she is being sexually assaulted. In fact, 14% of women are victims of rape committed by their husband.

MYTH: A person who has really been assaulted will be hysterical.
FACT: Survivors exhibit a spectrum of emotional responses to assault: calm, hysteria, laughter, anger, apathy, shock. Each survivor copes with the trauma of the assault in a different way.

MYTH: Sexual assault is an impulsive act.
FACT: Seventy-five percent of all assaults are planned in advance. When three or more assailants are involved, 90% are planned. If two assailants are involved, 83% are planned. With one assailant, 58% are planned.

MYTH: Assailants are usually crazed psychopaths who do not know their victims.
FACT: As many as 80% of all assaults involve acquaintances. An assailant might be someone you know intimately. He may be a coworker, a friend or a family member.

MYTH: Gang rape is rare.
FACT: In 43% of all reported cases, more than one assailant was involved.

MYTH: Many women claim that they have been sexually assaulted because they want revenge upon the man they accuse.
FACT: Only 4-6% of sexual assault cases are based on false accusation. This percentage of unsubstantiated cases is the same as with many other reported crimes.

MYTH: Persons who dress or act in a “sexy” way are asking to be sexually assaulted.
FACT: Many convicted sexual assailants are unable to remember what their victims looked like or were wearing. Nothing a person does or does not do causes a brutal crime like sexual assault.

MYTH: In most cases, black men attack white women.
FACT: In most sexual assault cases, the assailant and his victim are of the same racial background.

MYTH: Only young, pretty women are assaulted.
FACT: Survivors range in age from infancy to old age, and their appearance is seldom a consideration. Assailants often choose victims who seem most vulnerable to attack: old persons, children, physically or emotionally disabled persons, substance abusers, and street persons. Men are also attacked.

MYTH: It is impossible to sexually assault a man.
FACT: Men fall victim for the same reasons as women: they are overwhelmed by threats or acts of physical and emotional violence. Also, most sexual assaults that involve an adult male victim are gang assaults.

MYTH: As long as children remember to stay away from strangers, they are in no danger of being assaulted.
FACT: Sadly, children are usually assaulted by acquaintances, a family member or other caretaking adult. Children are usually coerced into sexual activity by their assailant, and are manipulated into silence by the assailant’s threats and/or promises, as well as their own feelings of guilt.

STATISTICS ABOUT SEXUAL ABUSE:

*1 in 3 girls are victims of sexual abuse before the age of 18.
*1 in 6 boys are victims of sexual abuse before the age of 18.
*1 of every 3 sexual assault victims are under the age of 12.
*In most cases, the child knew the sex offender. With girls, 29% were relatives and 60% were acquaintances. With boys, 16% were relatives and 44% were acquaintances.
*One half of victims are molested in their own home or in the home of the offender
*About 75% of children who are victims of child sexual abuse do not disclose at all during their childhood.
*90 to 95% of all sexual abuse cases are never reported to the police.
*Fabricated sexual abuse reports constitute 1 to 4% of actual reported cases. Of these, 75% of reports are by adults and 25% are by children.
*68% of incest survivors are adult victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault by a non-relative at some point in their lives.
*Women who reported being victims of childhood sexual assault were three times more likely to become pregnant before age 18.
*70 to 80% of sexual abuse survivors report excessive use of drugs and alcohol.
*27% of women suffering from an eating disorder report being sexually assaulted at some point in their lives.

“According to statistics, pornography bears an enormous responsibility for the spiraling rate of divorce and venereal disease, as well as sex crimes against women and children.”
–Judith A. Reisman, PhD