Home » Need Help » Sexual Assault

Sexual Assault

A Sexual Assault occurs every 2 minutes in the United States. Sexual assault does not discriminate – females and males of all ages, all walks of life, and all races can be, and are, victims.

Only 20% of rape survivors actually report a rape or sexual assault. This means if 100 rapes are reported to police, another 400 women, children or men did not report the crime.

What is Sexual Assault?

Sexual assault is defined as any sexual contact to which one party does not consent. Sexual assault includes:

• Any unwanted sexual act a person is forced or does not consent to perform or receive (This includes rape, forced vaginal, anal or oral penetration, touching or oral sex where the victim is unwilling or unable to give verbal consent — including being under 16 years old, intoxicated, drugged or unconscious)
• Forced touch of the intimate/private parts, including the genitals, buttocks or breasts

Force can be accomplished by physical assault, threats, manipulation, coercion, or trickery. The assailant’s goal in using any kind of force, physical or emotional is to make the intended victim vulnerable and less able to protect themselves. Often, the kind of force the assailant uses may become the focus of a victim’s self-blame. (“I shouldn’t have been drinking.” “I shouldn’t have gone off alone with them.” “I should have fought back harder or argued more.”) It may help to remember that the assailant’s intent was to make you feel vulnerable.

Who are the Assailants?

Assailants can be anyone. Assailants are family members, strangers, acquaintances, marriage or other intimate partners, someone of the opposite sex or someone of the same sex, professionals such as a counselor, clergy or medical personnel. Sexual assault occurs within the sex industry, or, the use of women and children in prostitution, and in the making and use of pornography. See Types of Sexual Assault for details on different aspects of sexual assault.

Sexual assault is a humiliating, terrifying, and often brutal crime that violates an individual in the most intimate way. Whether a victim knows or does not know the assailant, the fear and terror can feel the same. In certain situations, victims say their fear of being killed during the assault may have been stronger than their fear of being raped. The motive for sexual assault is not a need for sexual gratification, but the desire to overpower, dominate, humiliate or hurt another person. Sex is not the motivator, but the tool of that harm.

If you have just been assaulted, Health Care Following a Sexual Assault may be able to assist and answer some of your questions. Victims and survivors of sexual assault and abuse can contact Someplace Safe for more information or help in deciding if reporting a rape or assault is something they want to do.