Vicky Richmond Other Opinion Gov. Rick Perry has proclaimed April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Texas. While we frequently hear about sexual assaults in the news, we still like to think rape happens to other people in other communities. Many times it makes us feel better to blame the victim. Rape cannot happen to us. Rapists do not rape because the victim is dressed a certain way.
Rapists choose victims who are vulnerable.
That is why almost any woman or child is a potential victim. In fact, the majority of rapes are committed against minors, and most rapes occur in a home, not in a dark alley. Every hour, about six women in Texas are raped. One in five women will be raped in her lifetime, and one in four will experience an attempted rape. Here in Amarillo, Family Support Services' volunteers see 20 to 30 cases of sexual assault almost every month.