Page 1162 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Abbott knew that she had said “No!” and thus had been raped. She
4
notified the police, who conducted an investigation and turned their

findings over to the state attorney’s office. But the authorities backed

away. In the absence of evidence like bruises, a medical examination,

and torn clothes, they noted, there was little point in prosecuting.

The case of Sandra Abbott is all too typical. Even today, in most 5
instances of sexual attack, a victim makes no report to police, and no

offender is arrested. The reason for such inaction is that many people

have a misguided understanding of rape. Three false notions about

rape are so common in the United States that they might be called

“rape myths.”

A first rape myth is that rape involves strangers. A sexual attack 6

brings to mind young men lurking in the shadows who suddenly spring

on their unsuspecting victims. But this pattern is the exception rather

than the rule: Four out of five rapes are committed by offenders known

to their victims. For this reason, people have begun to speak more
realistically about acquaintance rape or, more simply, date rape.

A second myth about rape holds that women provoke their attackers. 7

Surely, many people think, a woman claiming to have been raped

must have done something to encourage the man, to lead him on, to
make him think that she really wanted to have sex.

In the case described above, didn’t Sandra Abbott agree to have 8

dinner with the man? Didn’t she invite him into her room? Such self-

doubt often paralyzes victims. But having dinner with a man—or even