The ultimate goal of rape is to humiliate, overpower and control another individual. At the Houston Area Women's Center, our youngest client was an infant and our oldest client 97 years old. Rape is provoked by the victim. This myth is based on the notion that people ask to be raped by what they wear or do. Only the rapist is responsible for the sexual assault.
Rape occurs only among strangers.
A person is less likely to report a sexual assault by a friend or relative. Rape occurs only between a man and a woman. Men cannot get raped nor can lesbians or gay men. Rape is about power and control and can happen to anyone. Although women are the most frequent victims of rape, both men and women can be perpetrators.