Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The Kirtland AFB Violence Prevention Program invites the community to honor survivors of sexual assault by wearing jeans and participating in “Denim Days,” on April 24. Denim Days is a national movement aimed at sexual violence prevention through education and public awareness. Denim Days was first observed in 1999 after a case in 1998 which occurred in Italy. An 18-year old woman was a sexually assaulted by a man who was her driving instructor during their first driving instruction meeting. She disclosed the rape to her parents that evening. They were supportive and pursued prosecution. Although he was initially found guilty he appealed the conviction. The Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction because the judges decided the victim’s jeans were very, very tight and therefore she must have helped him remove the jeans and in doing so, consented to sex. Women in Italian parliament protested by wearing jeans to work and the California Senate and Assembly were motivated to do the same. Wearing jeans on April 26 now symbolizes international protest against destructive, harmful and dangerous attitudes and myths surrounding sexual assault.

Here are some of the common sexual violence myths and facts that still persist. These erroneous beliefs can have deleterious effects or survivors, and decrease the effectiveness of their families, friends, medical, social services, leaders and law enforcement personnel:

Myth: Sexual assault is an act of lust and passion that can’t be controlled.

Fact: Sexual assault is about power and control over the other person and is not motivated by sexual gratification.

Myth: If a victim of sexual assault does not fight back, they must have thought the assault was not that bad or they wanted it.

Fact: Many survivors experience tonic immobility or a “freeze response” during an assault where they physically cannot move or speak. This is a typical stress response that all humans are equipped with.

Myth: A lot of victims lie about being raped or give false reports.

Fact: Only 2-8% of rapes are falsely reported, the same percentage as for other felonies. Victims often suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which effects the memory and thus how a victim is able to report the incident. At times this is misinterpreted as a false report.

Myth: A person cannot sexually assault their partner or spouse.

Fact: Nearly one in 10 women have experienced rape by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Myth: Sexual assaults most often occur in public or outdoors.

Fact: 55 percent of rape or sexual assault victimizations occur at or near the victim’s home, and 12 percent occur at or near the home of a friend, relative, or acquaintance. Another party or a third party is present 33 percent of the time during a sexual assault.

Myth: Rape does not happen that often.

Fact: There is an average of 293,066 victims ages 12 or older of rape and sexual assault each year in the U.S. This means 1 sexual assault occurs every 107 seconds. By the time adults reach 18 years old, one in four women have experienced some form of sexual violence and one in six men have experienced some form of sexual violence. Children are the most vulnerable.

Myth: People that have been sexually assaulted will be hysterical and crying.

Fact: Everyone responds differently to trauma--some may laugh, some may cry, and others will not show any emotions. Trauma responses vary from person to person. An assault can’t be assessed based on response to the rape.

Myth: Men are not victims of sexual violence.  

Fact: 1.5 percent of all men have been raped and 47 percent of bisexual men have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact in their lifetime. The DoD estimates that about 6,300 men were sexually assaulted in 2016. Women are two and a half times more likely to report their assault. In fact, 43 percent of women report while only 17 percent of men report their sexual assault.

Myth: Wearing revealing clothing, behaving provocatively, or drinking a lot means the victim was “asking for it”.

Fact: The perpetrator selects and may groom the victim--the victim’s behavior or clothing choices do not mean that they are consenting to sexual activity. Wearing revealing clothing, behaving provocatively, or drinking a lot and sexual assault are not mutually exclusive and/or causative.

Myth: If a parent teaches a child to stay away from strangers they won’t get raped.

Fact: 60 percent of child sexual abuse cases are perpetrated by someone the child knows outside the family, and 30 percent are assaulted by family members. Either way, the perpetrator is known to the child and has access. The perpetrator has also groomed the family and child with the motive to sexually perpetrate.

Myth: There is nothing we can do to prevent sexual violence.

Fact: There are many ways you can help prevent sexual violence including intervening as a bystander to protect someone who may be at risk. Look out for each other, take a second longer look at situations, intervene, speak up! You can potentially stop a sexual assault.

Throughout the month of April, you will also notice displays at the 377th Medical Group and Consolidated Support. Note that the jeans on display also have an anonymous account of a sexual assault incident. If you would like to contribute an account, there will be secure lock boxes at the MDG first floor bathrooms, and the main bathroom at Consolidated Support. You can also email an anonymous account to 377ABW.CVS.ViolencePrevention@us.af.mil via non-government email account.

According to Department of Defense data on sexual assault and information provided by Step-Up Program