Sexual Assault
1. Sexual assault is any involuntary sexual act in which a person
is threatened, coerced, or forced to engage against their will, or any
sexual touching of a person who has not consented.2. Types of sexual assault include: rape, attempted rape, child sexual abuse (which includes asking or pressuring a child to engage in any kind of sexual activities, indecent exposure, showing children pornography, sexual contact against a child, physical contact with the child’s genitals, viewing the child’s genitalia, or using a child to produce child pornography), elderly sexual abuse, sexual harassment, groping, and sexual domestic violence.
3. In most legal jurisdictions, sexual assault is considered to be a statutory offence (although precise definitions vary from one jurisdiction to another).
4. In almost all cases of sexual assault, victims experience profound long-term psychological effects. These can take the form of denial or rationalization, feelings of helplessness, an aversion to sex, anger, guilt, self-blame, self hatred, anxiety, fear, shame, recurring nightmares, flashbacks, depression, mood-swings, numbness, promiscuity, loneliness, a tendency to isolate oneself, and difficulty trusting oneself or other people.
