Rape and sexual assaults are crimes which affect all members of our community - its victims and those close to them. The more informed people are about the crime of rape, the better prepared they will be to prevent it.
Rape is an act of sexual intercourse, perpetrated against an individual without his/her consent.
An employee can be raped by a boss.
A teenager can be raped by a date.
A person can be raped by a spouse.
Men and women can be victims of sexual assault. In Maryland, the criminal definition of rape is not wide enough to include men as victims. Although not as common, they are incidences of males sexually assaulting other males and women sexually assaulting men. Thus, whenever discussing the crime of sexual assault, it is important to remember that women are not the only victims.
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Study: 2009-2013 suggest that 82% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger. Most of these tips focus on the 8% were a sexual assault is perpetrated by a stranger. For additional information about ways to reduce your risk of sexual assault visit the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network or RAINN website.