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Sexual assault can take many different forms and be defined in different ways, but one thing is clear, it’s never the victim’s fault.

Sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim. Examples of sexual assault include:

• Rape and attempted rape
• Sexual assault by penetration
• Fondling or unwanted sexual touching
• Forcing a victim to perform sexual acts, such as oral sex or penetrating the perpetrator’s body

Sexual harassment is any unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature that makes you feel distressed, intimidated, or humiliated.

You don’t have to have objected to a certain kind of behaviour in the past for it to be unwanted and constitute harassment.

Sexual harassment can include:

• Someone making sexually degrading comments or gestures
• Your body being stared or leered at
• Being subjected to sexual jokes or propositions
• E-mails or text messages with sexual content
• Physical behaviour, including unwelcome sexual advances and touching
• Someone displaying sexually explicit pictures in your space or a shared space, like at work
• Offers of rewards in return for sexual favours
• Sharing private sexual materials with intent to cause distress
• Asking questions about someone’s sex life
• Making sexual comments or jokes about someone’s sexual orientation or gender reassignment

Although sexual harassment happens everywhere, it is common at work. It can cause stress and hostility in the workplace, and over time, it can lead to physical and emotional problems, like headaches, nausea, cystitis, depression, anxiety, problems sleeping and eating, and loss of self-confidence. Some people can end up leaving their job rather than have to carry on enduring sexual harassment.

If this is happening to you, it is not your fault and you are not being unreasonable. The harasser is to blame and is abusing their position of trust and power.

Child sexual abuse occurs when a child or young person is involved in sexual activities that they are unable to understand, not developmentally prepared for, or cannot legally consent to. It includes both contact and non-contact abuse, whether in person or online. Child sexual abuse is always the responsibility of the person who commits the abuse, never the child.

In England and Wales, a child is anyone under the age of 18. Child sexual abuse can be committed by adults or by other children and young people. It is never the fault of the child or young person. Responsibility always lies with the person causing the harm.

Child sexual abuse can involve physical contact, but it can also occur without any physical contact. It may happen in person or online and can have lasting impacts on a child’s emotional, physical, and psychological wellbeing.

I thought the age of consent was 16?

In England and Wales, a ‘child’ means anyone under 18. However, the age of consent for sexual activity is 16. This means that sexual activity is always unlawful if one of the participants is under 16, even if they appear to agree.

Once a young person turns 16, the law recognises that they can legally consent to sexual activity. It’s important to understand what consent means in the law:

• Child sexual abuse is never the fault of the child, it is 100% the responsibility of the abuser(s).
• A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity. When an abuser engages with a child in this way, they are committing a crime that can have devastating and long lasting effects on the victim for years.
• Child sexual abuse does not need to include physical contact between a perpetrator and a child.

Types of Child Sexual Abuse

Contact Child Sexual Abuse

• Penetrative abuse involving a body part or object.
• Sexual touching of any part of a child’s body, whether over or under clothing.
• Kissing a child in a sexual way.
• Making, pressuring or manipulating a child to perform sexual acts on themselves or someone else.

Non-contact Child Sexual Abuse (In-person or online).

• Sending sexual messages, images or videos  to a child – including if a child sends a sexual message to another child
• Grooming a child for sexual purposes
• Showing a child sexual images, videos or live streams
• Making, requesting or sharing indecent images of a child
• Watching or recording a child for sexual purposes
• Encouraging or coercing a child to behave in a sexual way/perform sexual acts either online or in person/create or share sexual images of themselves
• Exposing genitals to a child.

Who commits Child Sexual Abuse?

Most children who experience sexual abuse are harmed by someone they know and trust. The person causing harm maybe:

• A family member (including siblings)
• A friend or family acquaintance
• Another child or person
• A teacher, coach, faith leader or trusted adult
• Someone they met online.

People who sexually abuse children often use manipulation, secrecy, threats, gifts, affection, or their position of trust and authority to gain access to a child and prevent disclosure. This process is commonly known as grooming.

A perpetrator does not have to be an adult to harm a child. They can have any relationship to the child including an older sibling or playmate, family member, a teacher, a coach or instructor, a caretaker, or the parent of another child.

The Impact of Child Sexual Abuse

The impact of child sexual abuse can be immediate or may emerge later in life. Every person’s experience is different. Some survivors experience difficulties with mental health, relationships, trust, self-esteem, or physical wellbeing, while others may not recognise the impact until adulthood.

If you are an adult survivor of child sexual abuse and need support, Safeline’s Telephone and Online Counselling will help you.

Force doesn’t always refer to physical pressure. Abusers may use emotional coercion, psychological force, or manipulation to coerce a victim into non-consensual sex. Some abusers will use threats to force a victim to comply, such as threatening to hurt the victim or their family or other intimidation tactics.

Awareness and understanding of sexual consent is very important, it helps to build healthy, fulfilling, and respectful relationships and reinforces the fact that any sexual activity without consent is a crime.

The statutory definition of consent is:

‘’Whether a complainant had the capacity (age and understanding) to make a choice about whether or not to take part in the sexual activity at the time in question. Whether he or she was in a position to make that choice freely, and was not constrained in any way.

Someone cannot give their consent when they are:

• Scared, threatened, or bullied
• Drunk or under the influence of drugs
• If they said ‘yes’ to something because you were scared for their life or safety
• If they froze or weren’t able to speak

Rape is a form of sexual assault. The legal definition of rape is ‘penetration with a penis of the vagina, anus or mouth of another person without their consent’.

The term ‘’sexual violence” is the general term used to describe any kind of unwanted sexual act or activity, including sexual assault, child sexual abuse and sexual harassment.

If you think you might have been affected by any form of sexual violence, you can find information and services on this page and also on the Resources section of this website or you can contact us to talk confidentially.