MYTHS AND FACTS...

Don't feel guilty and don't just try to forget about it. You didn't ask to be raped. Any rape is a violent attack that can have traumatic effects on the victim for months and even years afterward. Get help!

If you have unaccounted for time, a lapse of memory, or wake up in a strange place, and feel you have been sexually assaulted, contact a local law enforcement agency immediately. Remember: rapists are repeat offenders. By reporting this crime, you may save someone else from being attacked.

Collect your first urine sample in a clean container. Remember: this may be the only evidence linking the drug to the crime. Do not bathe, shower, douche, wash clothing, bedding, or disturb anything in the area where the assault occurred. You may destroy valuable evidence!

WHO CAN HELP?

Palm Beach County Victim Services Sexual Assault Unit provides:

24 hour assistance to all victims of sexual crimes in Palm Beach County.
Program services include: assisting the victim with police, medical and legal procedures, crisis intervention, and/or individual counseling, therapy and support groups.

Crime Prevention Practitioners are available to speak with groups at homeowners' meetings, business groups, schools or other interested groups as to methods to lessen the chances of becoming a victim of sexual assault.

One month advance notice is usually required to have a deputy attend meetings.

Myth: The rapist is oversexed, committing this crime on impulse and out of uncontrollable passion.
Fact: Rape is not an expression of sexual desire, but a crime of violence. It is motivated primarily by desire to control and dominate, rather than by sex.

Myth: The victim provokes the attack, possibly by the way she dresses or acts. She is somewhat at fault.
Fact: No one asks to be raped. Studies have shown no correlation between dress, appearance, and age.

Myth: Women can easily avoid situations that can lead to rape.
Fact: Most women who have been raped were in an environment they considered safe and were raped by someone they thought they could trust.

WHAT IF IT HAPPENS TO ME?

RAPE

Sexaul Assault Hotline 833-7273 (24 hours)

Palm Beach County Victim Services 355-2073

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