Knowledge of sexual assualt, such as rape and date rape, is often surrounded by myths. Below are some common myths about sexual assault, and the truth behind them.

Fighting for your safety may be necessary. However, if you start out fighting you cancel any other options that might be open to you. Since many attacks on women are not sexually motivated, and are designed to degrade and humiliate, talking your way out of it may be easier.

• There is documentation of assailants that left a would-be-victim alone after she told him that she was pregnant and it would kill her baby. (Some case were women that were too old to even have a baby.)
• Telling an attacker that you have VD or AIDS can discourage him.
• It may sound disgusting, but putting your fingers into you throat and making yourself vomit usually gets results. (This method is not often used except as a last resort.)
• Use your imagination and you can think of others.

The above methods are particularly important if your assailant has a gun or knife, or there is more than one attacker. (Fighting would probably be futile.)

• Guns stolen from residences are a primary way of getting guns into the hands of criminals.
• Be aware of those times and places where there is a potential for attack and be prepared to defend yourself.
  • parking lots
  • walking at night
  • waiting for a bus
  • elevators
  • other you will learn to recognize

Articles common to your handbag that make useful defense weapons.

• nail file
• rat tail comb
• teasing brush
• pens and pencils
• keys
• anything rigid

Concentrate on these areas only when combating an assailant.

• groin
• eyes
• ears
• nose
• throat

You should not swing at an assailant. Roundhouse or overhand blows are easy to deflect or evade. Your movements should be made with all your strength, and should be straight jabs. Remember that screaming may be just as important to your defense as any weapon.

The sexual assault prosecution process is difficult by any means. If you are assaulted, you can increase the chances that your offender will be brought to justice by taking the following actions quickly.

• Get to a safe place.
• Do not remove anything from the scene of the attack.
• Call a friend or someone who can help immediately!
• Do not shower, bathe, wash your hands, brush your teeth, comb your hair, or use the toilet. Even though you may desperately want to clean yourself, doing so may destroy important evidence.
• Notify a law enforcement agency as soon as possible!
• Go to the nearest hospital for an examination. Even if you do not want to report this to the police, you may have injuries you are not aware of that require medical attention.
• Take a change of clothing with you. If you choose to have medical personnel collect evidence, they may need to keep your clothes. You may also elect to give your undergarments to the police for semen analysis, along with any torn or stained clothing.

• Have a medical exam and a gynecological exam.
• Inform the doctor of the exact acts committed upon you and have the doctor note any medical evidence of them.
• At the hospital or clinic, consent to having the collection kit completed. If you are hesitant to give your consent, think about the others this may help.
• Semen smears must be taken. The doctor should note any bruises or injuries, external or internal.

• Inform the police of all details of the attack, however intimate, and of anything unusual you may have noticed about the attacker.
• Show police any external bruises or injuries, however minor, resulting from the attack.

• Make note of events of the attack, unusual details, etc., for yourself in case of a trial. Write down everything you remember.
• Show the injuries to a friend or relative who might be available as a corroborative witness at the trial.
• Seek psychological support. Even though the actual incident is over, you may suffer from rape trauma syndrome. Contact rape counseling services in your area that can help you during this period of trauma.

On the surface it may seem that attacks are random and therefore hard to avoid. In fact, you can reduce your chances of being victimized if you keep the following personal safety tips in mind.

• Do not leave drinks unattended.
• Do not take any beverages, including alcohol, from someone you do not know well and trust.
• At a bar or club, accept drinks only from the bartender or server.
• At parties, do not accept open-container drinks from anyone.
• Drink only from tamper-proof bottles or from cans--insist on opening your own beverage.
• Be alert to the behavior of friends and ask them to watch out for you.
• Watch for friends appearing highly intoxicated after drinking little or no alcohol.
• If you or a friend feel dizzy, confused or have other sudden, unexplained symptoms after drinking a beverage, call a family member, friend, the police, a doctor or 9-1-1 for help in getting to a hospital.

Remember to make good choices.

• When walking, do not carry your purse by the handle or strap. Keep it close to your body.
• Never leave your purse lying on a counter or in a shopping cart. Always keep closures fastened.
• Walk only on well-lighted, well traveled streets.
• Avoid parks, dark parking lots and construction areas after dark.
• Walk near the curb rather than near buildings, alleys or shrubbery.

If you believe you are being followed as you walk, turn around and look. If you are in danger, you can prepare to deal with it. If, while you are walking, you are accosted by someone in a car, run in a direction opposite to the way the car is traveling. In the time it takes the car to turn around, you can be gone.

• Always check the back seat of your car for intruders before entering.
• If you are being followed in a car, do not drive home. Drive to a police, fire or gas station, or any other well-lighted area.
• Remember your horn is a good alarm.
• To prevent carjacking, lock all doors, even when driving.
• When stopped in traffic, leave enough space between your car and the car ahead for quick departure.
• If another driver bumps your vehicle, do not stop. Either drive to a well-traveled area to inspect the damage or attempt to get the vehicle's license plate number and report it immediately to the police.
• If parked in a shopping mall or supermarket parking lot, look around for anyone or anything suspicious before approaching the car. If you feel you are being watched, go back to the store and ask someone to escort you or call the police.
• If available, take freeways rather than streets through high crime areas.
• While driving, stay in the center lane; avoid being blocked into the curb lane.

Above all, if there is no escape, do not resist.

• Use strong locks on every door of your home, and a chain lock or peephole on all windowless doors.
• Never open your door until you know who is standing on the other side. Repair or delivery persons can be identified by their identification cards by calling their places of employment.
• Do not put your first name on your mailbox or in the telephone directory. Use your first name initials.
• Have your keys in your hand, both to and from your home and car. Keep the key you intend to use poised in a position so it could be used as a weapon. Know which way your key goes into the lock.
• If you find evidence that an intruder has entered your home, DO NOT ENTER. Call police immediately from a nearby house.
• If you are hesitant about entering an elevator with a stranger, wait for the next elevator. When in the elevator, stand close to the control panel and know where the alarm is located.
• Carry a whistle in your hand or around you wrist. Use it if you feel threatened.
• Do not allow anyone to follow you into your building. Just because the person is holding a key, it does not mean the key fits the door to your building.
• Do not go to the basement laundry room alone. Do your laundry with a friend.
• Inform your baby-sitter of all precautionary rules you follow. Insist, for the safety of the baby-sitter and your children, that these rules be followed in your absence.
• Do not give personal information to strangers over the phone, or let the caller know that you are home alone.
• If you receive a "wrong number" call, never disclose your phone number or name. Ask what number the caller is trying to reach and instruct the caller to dial again.
• If you receive an obscene phone call, hang up immediately and notify the police. If calls persist, keep a whistle near the phone. At the next obscene call, blow the whistle loudly into the mouthpiece.

YOUR BEST DEFENSE AGAINST ATTACK IS AWARENESS. REMAIN ALERT AND AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS.

Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape. It is the forced sexual contact by someone the victim is or has been dating. Regardless of the amount of time a couple has dated--in some cases, they may have just met and it may be the first "date," they may have been together for years, or even no longer a couple--when sex is forced on someone by the use of threats, intimidation, trickery, or in cases where consent cannot be given because of impaired judgment due to alcohol or drug intoxication, it is RAPE. And, it is against the law.

In most cases, the influence of alcohol or a chemical substance removes a person’s inhibitors, both physical and psychological. Being under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs is not an excuse for sexual violence.

The decision to report an attack is the victim’s. Any person assaulted or harassed is encouraged to report the incident to law enforcement officials.

In Illinois, rape (sexual assault) is a Class 1 felony. A convicted offender could face four to fifteen years of mandatory incarceration and be ordered to make restitution.

The use of "date rape drugs" to facilitate sexual assault is increasingly being reported in some parts of the United States—Illinois included. In most cases, the method of operation is the same—the illicit substance is added to the drink of an intended victim without the person’s knowledge. In some cases, eye droppers containing the liquid have been used for ease in administration.

Shortly after the drug-spiked beverage is ingested, the person passes out. Victims usually wake up with no ill effects beyond amnesia covering the period of time they were out. Consequently, she/he neither resists nor remembers the sexual assault, let alone who did it. As indicated, both men and women may be the victims of date rape drugs, or simply rape drugs.

These drugs can be detected in blood tests providing the blood is drawn within the first four hours after ingestion. In most cases, however, this time has lapsed before the victim awakes. It is recommended urine tests be conducted. GHB can be detected for only eight to ten hours while detection of Rohypnol can occur for 60 hours following ingestion.

The following three drugs, in addition to alcohol and marijuana, are the most common in cases of substance-related sexual assaults today. Aside from the purpose of intended sexual assault, these three substances are used/abused recreationally to extend the effects of heroin and diminish the after-effects of crack cocaine. In cases of overdose, these drugs may result in coma or even death.

In addition to the following, be aware that there are a wide variety of other drugs which are chemically similar and mimic the effect of these drugs.