What is Sexual Violence?
Sexual Violence:
Sexual violence is any act (verbal and/or physical) which breaks a person's trust and/or safety and is sexual in nature.
Sexual Violence includes:
- Rape: includes assault by your spouse, partner, date, or acquaintance
- Incest
- Sexual assault against a child
- Ritual abuse
- Sexual contact
- Sexual harassment
- Exposure
- Voyeurism
In Wisconsin:
- Average age of a victim is 15
- Average age of an offender is 24
- 58.5% of assaults take place in either the victim or offenders home
- 93% of all sexual assaults are done by someone known to the victim
- 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men have been the victim of sexual assault
Sexual Assault:
- Is never a victim's fault
- Takes many forms
- Is not always committed in dark alleys by strangers, but more often committed in our schools, workplaces, streets and homes by people we know
- Is not caused by the victim; what they're wearing, where they are, or what they're doing
- Act of violence where sex is used as the weapon
- Motivated primarily out of anger and/or the offenders need to feel powerful by controlling, dominating, or humiliating the victim
- Victims/survivors of sexual assaults are forced, coerced, and/or manipulated to participate in unwanted sexual activity
