Defining Sexual Violence

Women, men, and children of all ages, socioeconomic levels, neighborhoods and lifestyles can be sexually assaulted.

To learn more about rape, sexual assault, and consent, and read definitions of other terms, use the links below.

Note: If you have experienced a sexual assault, please consider using all of the resources provided by the Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention Resource Center (SARC).

Sexual Violence Terms Defined

Acquaintance and date rape

Most people who are sexually assaulted are assaulted by someone they know such as an acquaintance, a current or former partner, or even a family member.

"Acquaintance rape" refers to rape by an acquaintance of the victim and "date rape" refers to rape by someone in a dating relationship with the victim, but not necessarily someone the victim knows well or is seeing seriously. When the assailant is a "friend of a friend" or someone the victim was getting to know romantically, it is often difficult to let others know about the assault because of fears that friends will not believe him or her.

It is not uncommon for survivors of acquaintance and date rape to have friends who chose to take a neutral stance on the rape, see the assault as a "misunderstanding," or even blame the friend who was victimized.

Back to top

Child sexual abuse or molestation

Child sexual abuse or molestation refers to the sexual assault of a child and also includes non-physical acts such as exposure and voyeurism.

Most cases of child sexual abuse are committed by someone known to the child such as a family member, neighbor, caregiver, or teacher. In many cases, childhood sexual abuse brings on intense feeling of guilt, dirtiness and confusion for victims, who may have sensed that something was wrong but not tried to stop the abuse, who may have enjoyed the feelings that resulted from the abuse, or who may have believed they brought the abuse upon themselves.

Back to top

Consent

Understanding what "consent" means is an important part of understanding sexual assault.

• What consent is: Consent is willful and positive cooperation in an act which encompasses voluntary action and knowledge of the nature of the act involved. Consent is specific to each individual act; having previously consented to an act does not imply continued consent.
• What consent is not: Cooperation that is forced through direct or implied threats of violence is not consent, nor is cooperation that is solicited by fear.
• • When someone is incapacitated or unconscious they are unable to give consent. When a person is drunk or drugged they are unable to give consent. Just because a person didn't say 'no' and/or didn't fight back, does not mean that the incident was consensual.
  • Fear may prevent a victim from saying no and/or from fighting back. Being unconscious means you can't say no or fight back. Being conscious but incapacitated by alcohol or drugs may also mean that saying no and fighting back is not a possibility.

Back to top

Incest

Incest is the sexual assault of a person by a family member such as a parent or step-parent, sibling, or other relative. Incest can refer to ongoing sexual abuse of this type or a single incident.

Back to top

Multiple assailant rape

Multiple assailant rape refers to a rape where more than one person sexually assaulted the victim during the incident. This type of rape is sometimes referred to as gang rape and may be facilitated by date rape drugs, including alcohol, rohypnol (roofies), ketamine (special k), and others. Date rape drugs can be used in other cases as well and function to reduce a victim's ability both to resist and to remember the attack.

Back to top

Partner rape

Partner rape occurs when someone is raped by an intimate partner such as a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse. A sexual encounter that is unwanted, forced, or not consensual is rape, regardless of the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator.

Sexual abuse is one of the 5 types of abuse that characterize domestic violence. Domestic violence refers to a pattern of behavior used to gain and maintain power and control over a romantic partner. Physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, economic, and social abuse are all used to perpetrate domestic violence. When there is domestic violence in a relationship, a victim may go along with sex to prevent her/ himself from experiencing further physical violence. When a victim cooperates with a sexual act out of fear, this is always considered to be sexual assault.

Back to top

Rape (legal definition)

In California, rape (CA penal code section 261-269) is defined as an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person when:

• The act is accomplished against a person's will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate bodily injury on the person or another.
• A person is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating, anesthetic, or controlled substance, and this condition was known or reasonably known to the perpetrator.
• The act is accomplished against a person's will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person, and there is a reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the threat.
• A person is under the belief that the person committing the act is their spouse, and this belief is induced by pretense or concealment practiced by the accused.
• The act is accomplished against a person's will by threatening to use the authority of a public official to incarcerate, arrest, or deport the victim or another, and the victim has a reasonable belief that the perpetrator is a public official.
• A person is incapable of giving consent because of a mental, developmental, or physical disability and this is known or reasonably should be known to the person accused of the act.
• The victim is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the accused. A victim under this circumstance is incapable of resisting due to being:
  • Unconscious
  • Asleep
  • Unaware or not cognizant of the act
  • Unaware or not cognizant of the act because of the perpetrator's fraud
  • Unaware of the act because of the perpetrator's false representation of the act as serving a professional purpose
• California law also states that "any sexual penetration, however, slight, is sufficient to complete the crime."

Back to top

Sexual assault

Rape and sexual assault are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably to describe non-consensual sexual contact.

• Rape refers specifically to any sexual intercourse without a person's consent. Rape includes instances where sex is physically forced, and/or against a person's will, and/or occurs while a person is incapable of giving consent. It includes forced oral, anal or vaginal penetration, and penetration with a foreign object.
• Sexual assault refers to a continuum of behavior that includes rape, but also encompasses any unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature. On this continuum, everything from non-consensual kissing and fondling to forced oral, anal or vaginal sex, is an act of sexual assault.

Whether a person was the victim of unwanted touching or experienced a forcible rape, the effects of these traumatic experiences can be emotionally devastating.

Back to top

Sexual battery (legal definition)

California penal code also identifies sexual battery (CA penal code section 243.4) as a criminal offense. Sexual battery is the act of touching an intimate part of a person, against their will, for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, or sexual abuse, including when the victim is:

• Unlawfully restrained by the assailant
• Unaware of the act because of the perpetrator's false representation of the act as serving a professional purpose
• Institutionalized for medical treatment and is seriously disabled or medically incapacitated

Back to top

Sexual exploitation by a helping professional

Sexual exploitation in this case refers to any non-consensual sexual contact perpetrated by someone in a place of authority or leadership over the victim. Example of perpetrators in this case would be teachers, church leaders, physicians, and therapists. This type of sexual assault can be particularly distressing for victims because of previous feelings of trust and respect for the perpetrator. In addition, this type of sexual assault can be difficult to disclose to others because of the status of the perpetrator as a respected and trusted person in the community.

Back to top

Stranger rape

Stranger rape is the least common form of rape, referring to a rape by an assailant who was not previously known to the victim. Stranger rape is further defined by 3 major categories: blitz sexual assault, contact sexual assault, and home invasion sexual assault.

1. Blitz sexual assault refers to a rape where the assailant suddenly and brutally attacks the victim without any prior contact.
2. Contact sexual assault refers to a rape where the assailant attempts to lure the victim into a situation where she/he can be attacked.
3. home invasion sexual assault is a rape committed by an intruder in the victim's home.

Back to top

Unlawful sexual intercourse (legal definition)

Unlawful sexual intercourse (CA penal code section 261.5) is the act of sexual intercourse with a minor (a person under the age of 18). This crime is a misdemeanor if the victim is not more than 3 years younger than the perpetrator and can be either a misdemeanor or a felony in other cases.

If you have questions, e-mail the Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention Resource Center (SARC), (858) 534-5793.