Sexual assault cuts across lines of race, sex, class, age and background. Anyone can be a sex offender. Offenders make a conscious decision to abuse and must be held responsible for their actions. Rarely is the offender the mythical stranger hiding in the alley. Each victim does what is necessary for survival at the time of sexual assault.
Survivors are never to blame for the actions of the sex offender.
After an assault, the physical and emotional well-being of the survivor is of the utmost importance. While each survivor reacts to sexual assault in their own way, many of the feelings survivors experience are similar following such a trauma. It takes time to recover a sense of self, strength, and empowerment after the occurrence of a sexual assault. Support from friends, family, a local crisis line or support group may ease the emotional trauma caused by sexual assault. Friends and family of a survivor also experience feelings of helplessness, anger and pain as a result of the assault of a loved one.