What is Sexual Assault?
Any sexual act toward another person
. . . whether by force or not by force . .
. against a person’s will or while they
are not capable of giving consent.
Types of Sexual Assault
• sexual harassment
verbal or non-verbal unwanted sexual contact
• sexual exploitation
using another person without caring about how
it affects them
• rape/attempted rape
forced sex against a person’s will
• sexual abuse
adult or older child forces, tricks, or bribes a
child into sexual activity
Abusers and Targets
• Most abusers are
boys/men
• Most targets of abuse are
girls or women, but can be
boys or men
Who is at fault?
• sexual harassment
verbal or non-verbal unwanted
sexual contact
• sexual exploitation
using another person without
caring about how
it affects
them
• rape/attempted rape
forced sex against a person’s
will
• sexual abuse
Consent to Abuse
Continuum
Consent 
Pressure
Coercion
Sexual abuse
Definitions
• Consent: both people want and agree to an
action
• Pressure: one wants to, but the other
doesn’t, or isn’t sure
• Coercion: one uses emotional or physical
threats to get what he or she wants
• Abuse: emotional exploitation or physical
attack to force a sexual act, or a sexual act
with someone unable to give consent
Classify this Action
Samantha and Jason belong to the same youth
group. Sitting together on a bus on the way
back from a field trip, Samantha begins
rubbing Jason’s leg. He’s not comfortable with
this display of affection, but doesn’t want to
have friends overhear his objections. He pulls
away, but she persists. She says she will tell
others he is gay unless he goes along with her
advances.
Consent
Pressure
Coercion
Abuse
Classify this Action
Chenele and her boyfriend, Jose, have only been
dating a few weeks. He is a junior and she is a
freshman. His friends are each taking a girlfriend to
the beach after graduation and Jose wants her to
go. She knows her parents will not agree unless
there are parents supervising the trip. Jose tells her
to lie. She is uncomfortable not being honest with
her folks. The more she thinks about it, she is
uncomfortable being with Jose without adult
supervision.
Consent
Pressure
Coercion
Abuse
Classify this Action
Shawn and Amanda agree that they are
ready to take their relationship to the “next
level.” They discuss the importance of
protection from sexually transmitted
diseases because Amanda has had oral sex
with a previous partner. They see eye to eye
about what their relationship means and do
not want any negative consequences to
affect their future plans.
Consent
Pressure
Coercion
Abuse
Classify this Action
Victor likes to date younger girls because they
are naive. He thinks he can take advantage of
their lack of experience. He persuades Felicity,
who is 15, to drink wine coolers until she is
intoxicated. He has sex with her and tells others
she wanted it.
Consent
Pressure
Coercion
Abuse
Focus on Sexual Harassment
• Unwanted or unwelcome sexual advances
• Request for sexual favors
• Verbal or physical conduct of a sexual
nature to denigrate the targeted person or
persons
It’s Against the Law!
• Sexual harassment is illegal and against
school policy for students, teachers and
school staff.
• Both females and males can be victims.
• Harassment can result in a hostile learning
environment for students.
• A student who is harassed can seek
redress against perpetrators.
Examples of Verbal &
Nonverbal Harassment
• Verbal:
– Wolf whistles or cat
calls
– Calling someone a
sexually-oriented name
– Comments about
someone’s body
– “Dirty” jokes
– Spreading sexual
rumors
• Nonverbal:
– Any unwanted touch
– Sexual gestures
– Touching oneself in a
sexual way
– Offensive/sexual
pictures