Hello there readers, I hope you all are stay home, staying healthy and had a chance to read about last week’s article on this topic “Sexual Assault Awareness Month: What is Sexual Assault?” If you had a chance to read it, we discussed what is sexual assault? This week I will take the time to talk about the different forms of sexual assault. Let’s get started shall we:
Sexual assault is when a sexual act is performed that is unwanted. As we discussed, sexual assaults are:
- Attempted rape
- Unwanted touching
Today I will be discussing about a few.
Child Sexual Abuse/Statutory Rape:
Statutory Rape: an unlawful sexual act with a minor. In several states it’s against the law for an adult to have sex with a minor. It’s illegal for a minor to have sex with another minor, even if they both consent.
Child Sexual Abuse: when a perpetrator performs a sexual act with a minor. (This is a form of child abuse, a topic we will discuss later on this month.) A child doesn’t have the capability to give consent to sexual activities. If a perpetrator performs sexual acts with a minor, they have committed a crime and this can have an impact on the minor’s life later on.
Child abuse can be:
- Exposing private parts to a minor
- Touching inappropriately/molestation
- Sex (penetration or oral)
- Masturbating when a child is present or forcing the minor to touch themselves
- Sexting, send naked picture or video to a minor
- Sex trafficking (this is a form of human trafficking. On my website there’s more information about human trafficking.)
The majority of the time the perpetrator is someone that the child knows. It could even be someone that’s in the family. The perpetrator doesn’t always have to be an adult. The common way a perpetrator can manipulate the victim is by having them stay quiet, using their power to intimidate them or tell the child it’s completely normal.
Intimate Partner Sexual Violence/Domestic Violence:
*Later on this year we will discuss about Domestic Violence and how we can spot it.
This can happen in ANY romantic relationship. When there’s sexual abuse there’s usually physical abuse. The first signs starts off with controlling behavior then it escalates from there. It could lead to forcefully or pressuring the individual to have sex when not wanting to or when not feeling well.
Incest is when there’s sexual activity between a family member. 34% of perpetrators in child abuse case are from a family member. It can be difficult for a child to report that they have been sexually assaulted by someone they know. It’s even extremely difficult when the perpetrator is someone within the family. Reasons why:
- They care for the person and are afraid of what will happen to them if they tell
- Fear of not being believed
- The report was excused by a family member
- Told that the sexual acts between them are normal
- May not know that they can get help
- Fear of getting in trouble
Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault/Date Rape:
Date Rape: when the perpetrator is the person you have gone on a date with and unwanted sexual acts occurred.
Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault: when drugs are used to enable the individual to consent to sex. The perpetrator is usually a date. It can be someone you know or a stranger. The most common way is when the perpetrator slips a drug into you drink without your knowledge or hands you medication to take because you are not “feeling well” in their eyes.
Down below are brief descriptions of other forms of sexual assault.
Serial Rape- A perpetrator that has committed several rapes with different victims.
Multiple Perpetrator- When multiple perpetrators (2 or more) sexually assault the same victim at once.
Sexual Harassment– Unwanted or unwelcome sexual behavior that interferes with your life, work place or education.
I have heard 3 podcast about 3 men who were accused of sexual assault or rape. Let me tell you a little bit about what they’ve did. Harvey Weinstein, this man would hire women to work for his company and would call them up to his hotel and sexually assault them. Listen to “The Catch and Kill” podcast to get more information about this case. Bill Cosby, we all loved that loving, heartwarming, funny dad on the “Bill Cosby Show.” Well, this is what he’s been accused of: multiple times of drugging women and raping them. Listen to “Chasing Cosby” podcast for more information about this case. The one that blew my mind was Jeffrey Epstein. This man was sex trafficking. He ran this with his sidekick Ghislaine Maxwell who was there to groom these young girls (under age of 18 the majority of the time) into doing whatever Epstein wanted. For more information about this case listen to “Truth and Lies: Jeffery Epstein” podcast.
Keep in mind while the majority of these reports are true, there is still that small percent that have lied about being sexually assaulted and sadly I knew someone that was part of that small percent. She accused a family member and now she put a strain on the family relationship. None of them speak to each other anymore because of the false accusation. I haven’t spoken to this person in years!
If someone tells you they’ve been sexually assaulted, listen. Listen carefully and see what you can do to help. If you know someone that is being sexually assaulted or has been sexually assaulted and wants help please call or visit RAINN.org for more information. They are a company that works with sexually assault victims. This can help change or save alive. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment below and share with someone that can benefit with this information and let spread awareness! Thank you for reading ❤️.
Names of different forms of sexual assault differ in different states*
Links: https://www.peaceoverviolence.org/i-types-of-sexual-violence, https://www.rainn.org/articles/drug-facilitated-sexual-assault, https://www.rainn.org/articles/incest, https://www.rainn.org/articles/intimate-partner-sexual-violence, https://www.rainn.org/articles/child-sexual-abuse, https://everythingsotay.com/2020/04/09/sexual-assault-awareness-month-what-is-sexual-assault/