Topic: What is assault? Sexual assault?

Assault is when someone uses force to hurt you. Slapping, kicking and pushing can be assault. Sometimes touching can be an assault. Threatening or trying to hurt someone can also be assault.

Sexual assault involves sexual contact that you didn’t agree to. Some common types are:

• touching your private parts or kissing you (“simple sexual assault”); or
• forcing you to have sex, even oral sex (“serious sexual assault”).

If the person hurts you, uses a weapon or threatens to use a weapon before or during a sexual assault, that could be “sexual assault causing bodily harm”.

If you are hurt very badly or almost killed, that is “aggravated sexual assault”.

All types of sexual assault are against the law. Courts deal with the types differently, and there are penalties for the different types.

Consent and No Consent: When a person agrees to have sex or to do something sexual, courts call it “consent”. There is no consent if:

• you did not agree to do it;
• you weren’t able to agree – for example, if you were asleep or drunk;
• the other person convinced you to do it and was in a position of trust, power or authority – for example, the other person was your babysitter, teacher or relative;
• you told the other person you didn’t want to do it – for example, you said no, or pushed the other person away;
• you agreed to do it only because the person hurt you or threatened to hurt you;
• you were very young (usually, people younger than 4 can’t consent); or
• you agreed to do it, but later told the person that you wanted to stop.