Sexual Assault - What is sexual assault? 

What is sexual assault?

Terms such as "sexual assault" and "rape "mean different things to different people. Because of the sexual nature of the crime people are often confused.

California Penal Code §261 defines rape as: "An act of sexual intercourse accomplished ... against a person's will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the person or another".

While the majority of rapes are committed by males against females as acts of vaginal penetration, the term "sexual assault" includes other acts of sexual violation, such as unwanted touching and/or molestation, assaults perpetrated against males, acts committed with foreign objects, forced oral copulation, forced sodomy.

It doesn't matter if the victim was intoxicated at the time of the assault-it is still a crime! Also, it doesn't matter what you were wearing or what type of sexual behavior you have had in the past. In fact, it is illegal in the state of California to force your spouse to engage in sexual activity. It doesn't even matter what sexual acts you consented to prior to the assault-against your will is against the law.

It must be very clear that sexual assaults and sexual abuse are acts of violence and/or control occurring within a sexual arena or where sex is used as a weapon.

It is important to recognize that sexual assault is NEVER THE VICTIM'S FAULT! If you or a friend is a victim of sexual assault, it is important that you get help.