It鈥檚 not sexual violence if the partners are in a relationship. | Sexual violence can occur in a marriage or other intimate partner relationship. |
It wasn鈥檛 sexual violence because the partner didn鈥檛 report it to the police. | Just because a person鈥痙oesn鈥檛 report the assault doesn鈥檛 mean it didn鈥檛 happen. Fewer than one in 10 survivors report the crime to the police. |
The person didn鈥檛 scream or fight, so it wasn鈥檛 sexual violence. | The person can become paralyzed with fear and be unable to fight back. They may fear that if they struggle, the perpetrator may become more violent. If they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they may be unable to react or resist. |
The person isn鈥檛 crying or visibly upset, so it wasn鈥檛 a serious sexual assault. | Each person reacts differently. They may cry or be calm, be silent or very angry. Their behaviour is not necessarily an indicator of the trauma they experienced. |
The person has no obvious physical injuries, such as cuts or bruises, so it鈥檚 not sexual violence. | Lack of physical injury doesn鈥檛 mean the person wasn鈥檛 sexually assaulted. The perpetrator may use threats, weapons or other types of coercion that do not leave physical marks. The survivor may have been unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. |
There wasn鈥檛 penetration, so it wasn鈥檛 sexual violence. | Any unwanted sexual contact is considered sexual violence. Many forms of sexual violence, such as stalking or distributing intimate videos, involve no physical contact. All of these acts are serious and can be damaging. |
It鈥檚 no big deal to have sex with a person who is drunk, stoned or passed out. | If the person is unconscious and cannot legally give consent or is incapable of consenting due to the use of alcohol or drugs, it鈥檚 sexual assault. |
If it had really happened, the person would be able to remember what happened and in the proper order. | Shock, fear, embarrassment and distress can all impair memory. Many survivors attempt to minimize or forget the details of the assault as a way of coping with the trauma. In addition, memory loss is common if alcohol or drugs are involved. |
When a person says 鈥渘o,鈥 they often means 鈥測es.鈥 | When a person says 鈥渘o,鈥 they mean 鈥渘o.鈥 By ignoring the person鈥檚 refusal or choosing not to understand, the offender is not respecting their decision. Without mutual consent, it鈥檚 sexual assault. |
Women lie and make up stories about being sexually assaulted. | The number of false reports of sexual assault is very low, consistent with the number of false reports for other crimes in Canada. Sexual assault carries such a stigma that many women prefer not to report it. |
Some victims are just asking for it because of how they behave and dress. | A person does not ask to be sexually assaulted through their actions or appearance. Things like hitchhiking, staying out late, drinking or doing drugs, dressing seductively, wanting a relationship or expressing a desire to go home with someone鈥攏one of these constitutes an invitation or provocation to sexual assault. |
Individuals who become sexually excited or have an orgasm during a sexual assault are consenting because they鈥檙e experiencing pleasurable feelings. | It鈥檚 possible for a person to have a physical reaction to sexual stimulation, even while they are being sexually assaulted. The person鈥檚 physical reaction or what they felt has no bearing on whether they were consenting at the time of the assault. |
Offenders cannot control their sexual urges. | Sexual assault is an act of violence. It is not about sexual desire. These assaults are not about attraction or an inability to control urges. They are about control over another person. Offenders who commit sexual violence do not suffer from any physical impairment that forces them to have sexual relations or that prevents them from being able to control themselves. Everyone has control over their body鈥檚 sexual urges. |
Every person who commits sexual violence has mental health problems. | Most of the time, the perpetrator is a member of the victim鈥檚 family or an acquaintance with no mental health problems. |
All men who sexually assault other males are homosexuals. | Some sexual offenders have preferences as to the sex or age of their victims. Most men who sexually assault other males are heterosexual. |
One way to stop sexual violence is to ignore it. | Ignoring sexual violence has the opposite effect: it can lead the perpetrator to continue to inflict sexual violence because they quickly realize the vulnerability of the target person. |
Sexual harassment, office romances and flirting are all the same. | The difference between flirting and sexual harassment is consent. Flirting is mutual and wanted, but sexual harassment is not. Sexual harassment occurs when there is no consent by the target person. |