Navigation Menu+

REFRAME #2: THE FACTS ARE SIMPLE.

 

“it’s just too complicated”    THE FACTS ARE SIMPLE

As a child, thinking that a stork delivers babies might be cute but at some point we all grow up and learn the truth about where babies come from.

Like the fable of storks and babies, many of us are raised from a young age to believe myths about issues of consent, interpersonal violence, and the experiences of survivors. Many of us never outgrow believing in myths like sexual violence doesn’t happen very often, stalking isn’t a “real” thing, and relationship violence is always physical.

The true story about interpersonal violence is starkly different and, as an adult, relying on myths about it can be even more problematic than believing babies are delivered by large, gangly birds. As you move through the information in this booklet, we hope it debunks common myths and helps you learn to reframe what you know about interpersonal violence based on facts, not fiction.

 

FACTS


About Sexual Assault:

  • 1 in 4 women will be the victim of sexual assault.
  • 1 in 6 men will be victim of sexual assault.
  • 1 in 2 transgender people will be the victim of sexual assault.
  • Not all victims are female, not all perpetrators are male.
  • Sexual violence occurs in all communities regardless of race, economics, sexuality, religion, or other identities.
  • More than 97% of victims on a college campus know the perpetrator.
  • Less than 2% of reported sexual assaults are false or made up.

About Relationship Violence & Stalking

  • 1 in 5 college students have reported at least one incidence of relationship violence.
  • In 77% of cases, violence occurs only after a couple has become seriously involved, rather than in the early, more casual, stages of dating.
  • Violence can occur in all kinds of relationships (heterosexual, gay, lesbian, etc.).
  • People of all genders can be perpetrators or victims of stalking. However, 80% of all stalking cases involve men stalking women.

DEFINITIONS PER COLORADO LAW

SEXUAL ASSAULT:

ANY sexual act where the person performing the act has not obtained CONSENT from the other person.

RAPE:

Intrusion of the vagina, anus, or mouth of a person without their CONSENT. The weapon of intrusion can be a penis, finger, tongue, or other object.

RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE:

Any act, or threatened act of violence, upon a person with whom the actor has been involved in an intimate relationship. Act or threatened act is based on power and control, not anger.

STALKING:

Repeated contact, following, or watching another person in a manner that creates fear in the other person (Also applies to acts committed against the person’s family, friends, and acquaintances).