There is never an excuse for sexual assault nor is the victim EVER to blame. Unfortunately, predators exist in our society who will look for opportunities to assault. Often they will know their victim. According to the National Victim Center, approximately 80 percent of rapes involve people the victim knows. 

While WEAVE believes in holding perpetrators accountable, we also know that personal safety planning can help us all be aware of our surroundings. Awareness for ourselves and our friends can be an important step to drawing attention to a potential perpetrator.

The following tips may help you be more aware:

1. Plan where you’re going and how you’re getting home. Let friends or family know the plan: Where you will be and at what times.
2. If it is a “blind date,” try to double with another couple. Drive yourself or have a means to get home without relying on the date.
3. If you are at a party, be cautious about accepting a ride or escort home from a person you have just met or do not know well, no matter how charming that person might be. If a person insists or pressures you to accept a ride, become suspicious.
4. Use alcohol in moderation and keep a close eye on your drink at all times. Alcohol is the most widely used date rape drug and can impair judgment. Avoid accepting drinks from individuals you don’t know. Order your own drinks and watch them being made.
5. Be aware of your surroundings. Remain aware and in control.
6. Avoid agreeing to go to any place unfamiliar to you, including your date’s home or apartment.
7. In a dating situation, define exactly what you want from the relationship. If what you want changes, say so. You have the right to change your mind.
8. Be assertive. Set clear limits regarding what you consider to be acceptable behavior. Be confident, believe and act as if you come first. You do.
9. Be verbal about your wishes. Say “no” when you want to say no and “yes” when you want to say yes. Demand that your feelings and expressions are respected. Be verbal.
10. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS AND FEELINGS. If you feel you’re being pressured into unwanted sex, you’re probably right. If you feel threatened, take action—before the potential attacker does.

Additional Info

• A prior or current relationship or previous acts of intimacy are not indicators of future consent.
• Verbal consent must be obtained both in each instance of sexual intimacy and as the level of sexual intimacy increases (e.g., moving from kissing to petting, from petting to oral sex, from oral sex to intercourse, etc.).
• If you have been a victim of a sexual assault either by a stranger, acquaintance, or intimate partner, know that there is help out there.

You can also help survivors of sexual assault by donating now.