Sexual Assault

Definition of Sexual Assault

Any unwanted sexual activity (rape, fondling, groping, flashing, peeping Tom, molesting, etc.)
Sexual assault is sexual behaviors and actions that one person does to another person against their will.
It is any unwanted sexual touch on top of or underneath clothing, contact, intrusion and/or penetration without the consent of another person.
It is an act of dominance, power and control. If you have sexual intercourse with a person against her or his will or without her or his consent, whether or not you use force, it's sexual assault.
Threats of violence, coercion, retribution or dire harm; kidnapping; physical assault; use of weapons; taking advantage of someone who's impaired or unconscious through the use of alcohol or drugs; taking advantage of someone who's underage or physically/mentally helpless (i.e., a person under the age of 14, in invalid, someone who's mental functioning doesn't permit them to make a conscious choice, someone who's in custody or confined by law or health problems) compounds the severity of the crime.

Sexual Assault Statistics

In Colorado, one in four women and one in seventeen men have experienced an attempted or completed sexual assault.
One in every 3.5 females is forced to participate in sexual activities against her will.
More than 80% of these sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance—often a date or a boyfriend.
More than half of sexual assaults go unreported.
61% of all rapes occurred before the victims reached the age of eighteen.
On college campuses, sexual assault involves the use of alcohol or drugs 90% of the time.
College-age women are more at-risk of sexual assault than women in any other age group.
Nearly one-third of rape victims will develop stress disorders as a direct result of the assault (at sometime in their lifetime). This in turn increases their risk for serious alcohol and drug abuse problems.

Learn more about...

Sexual Consent

If You are Sexually Assaulted or Raped

Common Misconceptions about Sexual Assault

Common Responses to Trauma

Issues sometimes faced by LGBTQ victims/survivors of sexual assault

Sexual Violence and the Spectrum of Prevention

Engaging Bystanders in Sexual Violence Prevention

Child Sexual Abuse

Definition of Child Sexual Abuse

Unwanted sexual contact or penetration with genitals, fingers, or objects, which may include touching, fondling, or grabbing private parts, perpetrated on a marital partner, dating partners, acquaintances or strangers.
The victim is forced, coerced, and /or manipulated to participate in unwanted sexual activity.
The victim is unable to give consent due to age, mental or physical incapacity, which includes being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, being asleep, or being extremely frightened.

Imagine a childhood disease that affects one in five girls and one in seven boys before they reach 18; a disease that can cause dramatic mood swings, erratic behavior, and even severe conduct disorders among those exposed; a disease that breeds distrust of adults and undermines the possibility of experiencing normal sexual relationships; a disease that can have profound implications for an individual’s future healthy by increasing the risk of problems such as substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and suicidal behavior; a disease that replicates itself by causing some of its victims to expose future generations to its debilitating effects. Imagine what we, as a society, would do if such a disease existed. Such a disease does exist—it’s called child sexual abuse.

--James Mercy

Child Sexual Abuse Statistics