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This is the first of SASSL’s new Myth a Month educational posters. Our social media pages will provide supplemental information and additional statistics to the posters. A list of sources is available as well.
MYTH:
Sexual assaults mostly happen in the middle of the night. If you don’t want to be assaulted, just don’t go out at night.
FACT:
Sexual assaults can happen at any time of the day and in any given location. In fact, sexual assaults that occur out on the streets in the middle of the night are less common than assaults that occur inside, such as at institutions and in private homes.
This myth perpetuates the idea that it is someone’s own fault for being assaulted, and encourages the idea that a survivor, as opposed to the perpetrator, should take responsibility for the sexual assault.
Nobody is at fault for being assaulted:
no matter where they are,
no matter what time it is,
no matter what they’re doing, what they’re drinking or what they’re wearing!
Nobody should have to police their movements in order to avoid assault. This is both impossible and unfair.
STATISTICS:
• 43% of sexual assaults occur between 6:00 pm and 12:00 am
• 33% of sexual assaults occur between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm
This accounts for 76% assaults occurring during the daytime; only 24% of assaults actually occur late at night (between 12:00am – 6:00 am).
(U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997)
This myth stems from the belief that sexual assaults occur primarily in the streets and other locations perceived to be more dangerous than private homes or commercial buildings.
“According to the 2004 GSS, more than half (51%) of sexual assault incidents occurred in a commercial or institutional establishment, followed by a residence or surrounding location (31%), a street or other public place (12%), or in another location (6%).”
(Government of Canada, 2008, para. 12)
The U.S. Department of Justice found that:
• 4 in 10 take place at the victim’s home.
• 2 in 10 take place at the home of a friend, neighbor, or relative.
(U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997)
The statistics for location of most assaults are further complicated when the nature of the assault is taken into account.
“The location of the incident varied with the specific offence type. More than half (56%) of sexual attacks occurred in and around a residence; whereas, over half (57%) of incidents of unwanted sexual touching occurred in a commercial establishment.”
(Government of Canada, 2008, para. 13)
These statistics show that very few sexual assaults occur in the streets; the majority of assaults occur either in the home or in commercial institutions.
Sexual assaults are not dependent on how ‘dangerous’ or ‘safe’ a particular location is. People being assaulted in their own homes and workplaces shows that sexual assault is a crime that is much more complicated than the potential danger of the spaces in which it takes place.
Nobody should be expected to monitor their movements, travels, or schedules in order to ‘protect’ themselves from assault. Sexual violence is an issue that is society wide; it is not the responsibility of the survivor to not be sexually assaulted.
SOURCES:
1. Government of Canada (2008). The nature of sexual offences. Statistics Canada. Retrieved fromhttp://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85f0033m/2008019/findings-resultats/nature-eng.htm
2. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (1997). An analysis of data on rape and sexual assault: Sex offences and offenders. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/SOO.PDF