The continuum of Sexual Assault includes rape, incest, child sexual abuse, ritual abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking, unwanted sexual contact, sexual harassment, exposure and voyeurism.
Sexual assault is "about the fusion of sex and domination, about the eroticization of control" (Jensen 57). It is a violent crime motivated by the need to control, humiliate, and harm. Perpetrators use sex as a weapon to dominate others.
Jensen, Robert. "A Cruel Edge." Ms. Magazine. Spring 2004. 55-58.
Many state statutes consider sexual assault to be any non-consensual sexual contact or penetration by physical force, by threat of bodily harm, or when the victim is incapable of giving consent by virtue of mental illness, mental retardation, intoxication or being under the age of consent (16 years old in NH). Legally, acquaintance rape carries the same penalties as sexual assault committed by a stranger.
Nation Coalition Against Sexual Assault
- alone and don't tell anyone about the abuse
- fearful of how others will react
- depressed
- "jumpy" and on alert
- fearful of seeing the assailant again
- at fault or to blame for the violence
- fearful of leaving home or meeting new people
- fearful of being alone
- calm or numb
- powerless or helpless
- denial
- aversion to touch
and may experience:
- changes in sleeping and eating patterns
- anxiety and flashbacks
- a loss of trust in others
