Saving Our Sisters
Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse & Child Molestation
Sexual assault is any type of forced or coerced sexual contact or behavior that happens without consent. Sexual assault includes rape and attempted rape, child molestation, and sexual harassment or threats.
Sexual Abuse is any sort of non-consensual sexual contact that can happen to men or women of any age. Sexual abuse can include derogatory name calling, refusal to use contraception, deliberately causing unwanted physical pain during sex, deliberately passing on sexual diseases or infections and using objects, toys, or other items without consent and to cause pain or humiliation.
Child Sexual Abuse is "any sexual act with a child performed by an adult or an older child,"and can include a number of acts, including but not limited to:
Sexual touching of any part of the body, clothed or unclothed;
Penetrative sex, including penetration of the mouth;
Encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity, including masturbation;
Intentionally engaging in sexual activity in front of a child;
Showing children pornography, or using children to create pornography;
Encouraging a child to engage in prostitution.
Sexual abuse is never the fault of the survivor.
Let's Talk About It
Sexual assault is all about power and control. Many perpetrators of sexual assault will use a form of manipulation called coercion to
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Coercion is a tactic used by perpetrators to intimidate, trick or force someone to have sex with him/her without physical force.
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Coercion is an issue of power and control.
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A perpetrator who uses coercive tactics knows that his or her victim does not want nor enjoys this sexual interaction.