What is Sexual Violence?
Sexual Violence is generally defined as any type of sex act committed upon a person without that person’s consent. Sexual violence includes a continuum of different types of acts and contexts, such as: acquaintance rape, stranger rape, marital rape, statutory rape, child sexual abuse, and sexual harassment.
Sexual Violence consists of a range of behaviors and acts including but not limited to: unwanted or forced vaginal, oral, or anal penetration, unwanted fondling, exhibitionism, and voyeurism.
What are Common Responses to Sexual Violence?
There is no single typical response to sexual violence. Many survivors experience a range of responses such as:
- Fear and anxiety
- Sadness and depression
- Intrusive memories of the assault
- Emotional numbing
- Difficulty concentrating
- Guilt and shame
- Negative thoughts or beliefs
- Relationship difficulties
- Physical health problems
For more information or to speak with a victim advocate, please call SAVS at: (321) 242-3110
24-hour Rape Helpline (321) 784-HELP (4357)
Fact Sheet: Sexual Assault Statistics
According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010*(1):
• 1,266,000 women in Florida have been raped at some point in their lives. That’s 17% or 1 in 6 women in Florida.
• 41.8% of women, or 3,111,000, in Florida have been victimized by sexual violence other than rape.
• 79.6% of female victims who have experienced one or more completed rape experienced the first rape
before the age of 25; 42.2% were under 18 at the time of the first completed rape.
• 20.4% of men, or 1,437,000 men, in Florida have been victimized by sexual violence other than rape.
• More than one quarter (27.8%) of male victims who have experienced at least one completed rape experienced the first rape when they were 10 years of age or younger.
*For this survey, rape is defined as completed forced penetration, attempted forced penetration, or alcohol/drug facilitated forced penetration. “Sexual violence other than rape” means unwanted sexual contact short of penetration, and unwanted, coerced penetration.
Read The Complete Fact Sheet From FCASV