Rape
The legal definition of rape is ‘When a person penetrates another person’s vagina, anus or mouth with a penis, without consent.’
Sexual Assault
The legal definition of Sexual Assault is ‘An act of physical, psychological and emotional violation in the form of a sexual act, inflicted on someone without consent. It can involve forcing or manipulating someone to witness or participate in any sexual acts.’
Sexual assault can include unwanted touching of clothing, being touched or grabbed, or someone rubbing against you with their pelvic area.
Penetration of another person’s vagina or anus with a body part that is not a penis, or with an object, without consent is defined as ‘sexual assault by penetration.’ This crime carries the same sentence as rape.
Child Sexual Abuse
A child can never consent to sexual activity with an adult.
When an adult, or older child or peer, scares, manipulates, tricks or forces a child into taking part in sexual activity, this is sexual abuse. This can include contact activity (e.g. rape, masturbation, kissing and touching), as well as non-contact activity (e.g. explicit sexual talk or showing pornography to children).
Child sexual abuse can be perpetrated by an adult, or an older child or peer.
Sex Trafficking
The definition of sex trafficking is ‘when adults or children are recruited, harboured, transported, provided or obtained, under force, fraud or coercion, to perform a commercial sex act.’ Sex trafficking does not have to include travel or movement across borders, and happens to UK-born citizens on UK soil. The ‘payment’ for the sex act does not have to include money; the benefits could include any advantage gained by the trafficker (or another person) such as personal benefit or privilege as well as financial gains or property.
Sexual Exploitation
Child Sexual Exploitation is when a child or young person is taken advantage of through an imbalance of power, to coerce or manipulate them into sexual activity. Exploitation can include being given things, like gifts, drugs, money, status and affection, or can include coercion such as threats or blackmail. The child or young person may believe that the sexual activity is consensual, but a child cannot consent to sexual activity with an adult. Sexual exploitation does not always include physical contact, and can occur through the use of technology (such as coercion to share sexually explicit images online).
Sexual Harassment
The definition of Sexual Harassment is ‘unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature which: violates your dignity; makes you feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated; creates a hostile or offensive environment.’
Sexual harassment can include being victim to indecent exposure, being sent or given images of a sexual nature, or unwanted sexual advances or sexual threats.
