| UNTRUE |
TRUE |
| Children
are usually molested by strangers. |
85
- 90% of children are molested by someone they know. |
| Sexual
abuse is a rare occurrence. |
1
in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before
they turn 18. |
| Sexual
abuse only happens in lower class or rural families. |
Sexual
abuse happens across all socio-economic communities, and
it happens in both city and rural environments. |
| There
is a universal, cross-cultural taboo against sexual
abuse which prevents it's occurrence. |
The
fact is it does happen. The taboo is against talking
about it, not doing it. |
| Only
young girls are the victims of sexual abuse. |
Young
boys are equally vulnerable to sexual exploitation. |
| Women
offend as frequently as men, it is just not reported. |
95%
of all offenders are male. |
| The
offending male is either psychotic or retarded. |
Men
who offend cannot be classified as either mentally ill
or psychotic. |
| It
is only homosexuals who abuse boys. |
Sexual
abuse of young boys is perpetrated more often by
heterosexual males rather than homosexual males. |
| Children
lie about sexual abuse. |
Children
do not have the explicit sexual knowledge to enable them
to talk about sex unless they have experienced it. |
| Children
are seductive. |
The
fact is children are sensual. Seductive is an adult's
interpretation of behaviour which is bestowed on a
child. |
| The
child will always feel negatively towards the offender. |
The
child may have ambivalent feelings towards the offender,
but rarely experiences negative feelings when the
perpetrator is a family member. |
| Non-offending
mothers in incestuous families do not know about the
abuse. |
About
60% of mothers know that the abuse is taking place in
the family. |
| Sexual
abuse which is non-violent is not harmful. |
It
is not the violence but the length of the relationship,
trust in the relationship, age of the child, the threats
that were made, which need to be taken into account when
assessing the damage. |
