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What is It?
Sexual violence is generally defined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a sexual act committed against someone without that person’s freely given consent. Note that sexual violence involves victims who do not consent or who are unable to consent to the involved sex act(s).
Sexual violence includes (Basile et al., 2014):
- Completed or attempted forced penetration of a victim: Includes unwanted vaginal, oral or anal insertion through use of physical force or threats to bring physical harm toward or against the victim
- Completed or attempted alcohol or drug-facilitated penetration of a victim: Includes unwanted vaginal, oral or anal insertion when the victim was unable to consent because he or she was too intoxicated (e.g., unconscious or lack of awareness) through voluntary or involuntary use of alcohol or drugs
- Completed or attempted forced acts in which a victim is made to penetrate someone: Includes situations when the victim was made, or there was an attempt to make the victim, sexually penetrate a perpetrator or someone else without the victim’s consent because the victim was physically forced or threatened with physical harm
- Completed or attempted alcohol or drug-facilitated acts in which a victim is made to penetrate someone: Includes situations when the victim was made, or there was an attempt to make the victim, sexually penetrate a perpetrator or someone else without the victim’s consent because the victim was too intoxicated through voluntary or involuntary use of alcohol or drugs
- Nonphysical forced penetration which occurs after a person is pressured to consent or submit to being penetrated: Includes being worn down by someone who repeatedly asked for sex or showed they were unhappy; having someone threaten to end a relationship or spread rumors; and sexual pressure by misuse of influence or authority (also referred to as sexual coercion)
- Unwanted sexual contact: Includes intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh or buttocks of any person without his or her consent, or of a person who is unable to consent; also includes making a victim touch the perpetrator (unwanted sexual contact can be referred to as “sexual harassment” in some contexts, such as a school or workplace)
- Noncontact unwanted sexual experiences: Includes unwanted sexual attention that does not involve physical contact (e.g., verbal sexual harassment or unwanted exposure to pornography), occurring without victims’ consent and sometimes, without their knowledge
Contact sexual violence describes all the above acts except noncontact unwanted sexual experiences.
If you have been sexual victimized, you can reach out to your local rape crisis center 24/7 for support and help. Call 800-656-HOPE or go to West Virginia Rape Crisis Centers to locate the center closest to you.
Note:
- Professionals tend to use a number of terms interchangeably to broadly discuss sexual violence. “Sexual violence” and “sexual assault” are used as umbrella terms to describe an array of acts described in the CDC definition. However, when discussing state and federal criminal offenses, specific terms are used to describe specific acts. For example, as listed in the Laws section of this website, there are two main classifications of criminal sex offenses in West Virginia—sexual assault and sexual abuse. In addition, there are a variety of other WV criminal offenses of the sexual nature, including filming of sexually explicit conduct of minors, child abuse, incest, and nonconsensual disclosure of private intimate images and sex trafficking.
- Not every type of sexual violence is considered a criminal offense. For example, verbal sexual harassment is not a criminal offense in and of itself. It may, however, be a school or workplace violation.
- Sometimes sexual violence is described based on the relationship status between victims and perpetrators, such as stranger sexual assault, acquaintance or non-stranger sexual assault, marital sexual assault, dating and intimate partner sexual assault, sexual contact with minors or incest (sexual assault and sexual abuse committed by a relative).
What to Know
What we know about sexual violence is often influenced by assumptions that we and others hold about it. Let’s make sure our thinking on the topic is grounded in reality. Here is essential information about sexual violence to know:
- Sexual violence can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, ability, socio-economic status, religion or other personal characteristics. However, some populations face higher risks and rates of victimization than others. Risks may be further escalated for individuals who identify with more than one of populations facing increased risk.
- Sexual violence is NEVER the victim’s fault. It doesn’t matter if someone was dressed in a way that is perceived to be seductive, drinking or using drugs, out alone, flirting or on a date or in a relationship with the perpetrator. No one asks to be sexually assaulted. The responsibility for committing sexual assault lies solely with the perpetrator. We do not blame robbery victims for being robbed because they own expensive items or homes or live in exclusive neighborhoods. We do not excuse robbers their crimes if the victims fail to secure their property. Similarly, neither should we blame sexual assault victims for the crime due to their appearance or actions before, during or after the assault. Victims must not be held accountable for their perpetrators’ violence.
- If a child is sexually abused, they may not tell anyone right away. Because they often are confused by the abuse, feel responsible or are being threatened by their abuser, children don’t automatically tell a parent or another trusted adult about what is happening to them. For that reason, parents are encouraged to talk frequently and openly about sexual abuse with their children. The more they know and the more comfortable they feel talking to their parents/other trusted adults, the more willing they may be to disclose sexual abuse.
- Males cannot be expected to prevent their own sexual assaults. Boys and men can be victims of sexual violence. However, many people mistakenly think that males should be able to prevent a sexual assault by putting up a fight. A common belief is that if a male failed to fight off an attack, he is weak. The truth is that sexual assault victims – regardless of their gender identity – should NEVER be judged for failure to stop an assault.
- Some people also believe that if victims are gay or bisexual or had a sexual response during a sexual assault, they enjoyed the forced sex. The fact is that a sexual response such as an erection is physiological and not within victims’ control – just because their body reacted sexually does not mean they enjoyed the abuse. And the sexual orientation and gender identity of a victim and/or perpetrator in no way changes the reality that sexual assault is a personal violation, not consensual sexual activity.
- Most sexual assaults are not committed by strangers in dark alleys. It is a common misconception that most sexual assaults are committed by strangers. Stranger assaults do occur, but the reality is that the most victims are sexually assaulted by someone they know – an acquaintance, friend, date, intimate partner, classmate, neighbor or relative (Basile et al. 2022). And when people think of where sexual assault is most likely to occur, they may imagine places they associate with danger, such as a dark alley. Yet, it is more often the case that victims are assaulted at familiar places, such as at or close to their home or a residence of people they know. While many sexual assaults take place in evening or early morning hours, they can happen anytime. Sexual assault can occur while victims are engaged in any number of activities, such as sleeping, at work or school, traveling to/from locations, shopping, doing errands, etc. (West Virginia State Police, 2010; Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013)
- Sexual assault can occur in dating and intimate partner relationships. Sexual assault is sexual assault, no matter what the relationship is between the victim and perpetrator. In dating and intimate partner relationships, people have the right to change their mind about activities they participate in together, including sex. One form of sexual contact does not necessarily open the door to other forms of sexual activity. Even if two people have had sex before, one does not have the right to force sex on the other. (See the Dating Violence section of the website.)
- Sexual assault is an act of aggression and dominance. Perpetrators use sex to gain power and control over their victims in a most personal way. Sexual assault is not typically caused by perpetrators’ uncontrollable sexual desire, even if satisfying sexual desire may be an aspect of the violence. It is not an act of romance.
- In many cases, perpetrators plan their sexual assaults. They may target individuals who are accessible, vulnerable and/or perceived to be lacking in credibility (and thus may not be believed or taken seriously even if they report the assault to law enforcement).
- Perpetrators facilitate sexual assault using a variety of tactics. Most sexual assaults involve some type of force, but force is not only physical violence (such as hitting or using a weapon). Force has many additional forms, including use of coercion, threats, manipulation and psychological pressure. Here are examples of how perpetrators might force someone to have sex without using a weapon or physical violence: using threats to scare or intimidate them, having sex with them when they are too drunk or high to say “no,” drugging them to incapacitate them, not taking “no” for an answer, threatening to harm a friend or family member, manipulating or tricking them by taking them by surprise, not telling the truth or leading them on, overpowering them physically, implying that something even worse will happen if they don’t give in, and using a position of authority and trust (such as a teacher or coach) to get them to agree to do something sexual.
- Many perpetrators use physical violence to facilitate sexual assault only as needed. People may mistakenly believe that an absence of injuries means that a victim failed to resist and, therefore, must have consented. But physical force may not be needed if perpetrators can incapacitate, intimidate or wear down resistance of their victims. Some victims submit to sexual assault for fear of greater harm. Submitting does not mean the victim gave consent. Each victim does whatever they need to do at the time of the assault in order to survive.
- Alcohol and drugs are often involved in sexual assaults; however, they are not the cause of them. Perpetrators are responsible for committing their sexual assaults. Perpetrators’ alcohol/drug use prior to a sexual assault is not a justification for violating another in this way. With most sexual assaults, perpetrators identify their intended victims in advance. Their use of alcohol/drugs prior to an assault may, however, be a factor in lowering their inhibition to use violence or to carry out the assault.
- Victims’ use of alcohol/drugs prior to a sexual assault in no way makes the assault their fault. Many victims have found that their ability to react was impaired prior/during to the assault due to the effect of drinking/taking drugs or being drugged to a level of incapacitation. In West Virginia, someone who is incapacitated cannot consent to sexual intercourse.
- Believing “no” to sex means “yes” can lead to sexual assault. People who regard sex as “scoring” often believe “no” can be changed to “yes” with a little more pressure, manipulation or force. Acquaintance sexual assault often masquerades as seduction, with the perpetrators rarely feeling they have done anything wrong. They believe that pressure and manipulation are legitimate ways to get what they want.
- The majority of victims don’t report. Many people seem to believe that anyone who is “really” sexually assaulted will immediately contact law enforcement to report the crime. Yet, in reality, the majority of assault victims do not report their victimization to law enforcement, making this offense the most underreported violent crime in the U.S. The hesitation to report occurs for any number of reasons, such as concern they will not be believed, fear of being blamed, fear of reprisal and not wanting to get their perpetrators in trouble (among many other possible factors).
- A small percentage of sexual assaults are false reports. Rates of false accusations of sexual assault made to law enforcement are about the same as for any other violent crime, converging around 2% to 8% (Lisak et al., 2010; Lonsway, Archambault & Lisak, 2009).
- Due to trauma reactions related to being victimized, victims often do not remember all the details of their assaults and/or may get confused when asked about events surrounding the assault. They may not emotionally react in the aftermath as other people think a survivor should. However, mixed up or missing pieces of memory, confusion and varied emotional reactions are normal after experiencing trauma. Unfortunately, these reactions are sometimes misinterpreted as signs that victims are lying about being assaulted, about the assault history or about who perpetrated the assault, if known.
Resources
References
Basile, K.C., Smith, S.G., Kresnow, M., Khatiwada S. & Leemis, R.W. (2022). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2016/2017 Report on sexual violence. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Basile, K.C., Smith, S.G., Breiding, M.J., Black, M.C. & Mahendra, R.R. (2014). Sexual Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data Elements, Version 2.0. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2014.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2013). Female victims of sexual violence, 1994-2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.
isak, D., Gardinier, L., Nicksa, S.C. & Cote, A.M. (2010). False allegations of sexual assault: An analysis of ten years of cases. Violence Against Women, 16(2), 1318-1334.
Lonsway, K.A., Archambault, J. & Lisak, D. (2009). False reports: Moving beyond the issue to successfully investigate and prosecute non-stranger sexual assault. The Voice, 3(1), 1-11. Newsletter for the National Center for the Prosecution of Violence Against Women at the National District Attorneys Association. Reprinted in The Prosecutor, 42(4), November/December (2008). National District Attorneys Association.
West Virginia State Police (2010). West Virginia incident-based reporting system (WV-IBRS) 2009. Kearneysville, WV: Author.