Myths of Sexual Violence

Myths of Sexual Violence
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Sexual assault is a peril that occurs more often than most people would care to admit. According to the Rape Abuse and Incest Network (n.d), in every 98 seconds that pass, at least one individual is a victim of sexual assault in the US only. Startlingly, in an eight-minute interval, that victim is someone’s child who will probably not find justice as only six in a thousand perpetrators are likely to go to jail. Among the reasons why cases of sexual assault remain prevalent are the myths and misconceptions surrounding the issue. This study shall, therefore, assess multiple myths surrounding sexual assault, in a bid to establish the cause of their prevalence and possible impacts.
According to Vandiver et al. (2016), the greatest of all myths lies on the assumption that all sex offenders are the same. Society stereotypes certain individuals as potential threats while others are gain ‘full immunity.’ Studies indicate that most people may consider an unemployed person more likely to be a potential sex offender as compared to an employed person. Stakes are even lower when the employed person is wealthy as they are deemed more gentlemanly or noble. Such stereotypic perceptions, therefore, cripple the detection of sexual assault perpetrated by such people and make it even more difficult to prosecute them should they be discovered (Vandiver et al., 2016).
There also exists a number of myths surrounding the reasons …