Sexual Assault Essay

Part One: Sexual Assault

Sexual assault is any kind of sexual behavior that happens without the consent of the victim. Examples of sexual assault can include but are not limited to: rape/ attempted rape, touching/ forcing to touch the body, incest, sexual contact with a child, watching/ photographing sexual situations, and exposing body parts. According to RAINN- Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network- one in thirty-three men are victims of sexual assault while one in six women are victims of sexual assault. Although sometimes sexual assault is committed by someone that is a stranger to the victim, most of the time it is committed by somebody that they know (this includes intimate partners like a husband/wife, ex-husband/wife, or boyfriend/girlfriend).

One of which is child sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse is any sexual assault on a child. Some signs of child sexual abuse in older children may include depression, withdrawal, poor self-image, chemical abuse, running away from home, and aversion toward going home. They also may be repeatedly complaining about physical issues such as cramping, abdominal pains, muscle aches, dizziness, gagging, or severe headaches. Self-harm like cutting, burning or tattooing may also be a sign, along with suicidal thoughts or attempts, truancy, change in school performance, and overly seductive behavior. Eating disorders are a common sign, such as anorexia, bulimia, and sudden weight gain and loss; limited social life, attention seeking, and delinquent behavior are signs for older children, too. Young children may reveal signs such as nightmares and sleeping disturbances, bedwetting excessively, fecal soiling, excessive masturbation, clinging, whining, regression to more infantile behavior, explicit knowledge of a sexual nature, atypical behavior or language for their age, withdrawal, frequent genital infections, unexplained gagging, agitation, hyperactivity, irritability, aggressiveness, or loss of appetite (“Types of Sexual Assault”,

It almost always is involving some type of physical violence. Incest is also a type of sexual assault. It is sexual contact between people that are so closely related that marriage is not legal (parents and children, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, etc.). Same gender assault is when the victim and offender are the same gender; this does not necessarily mean that they identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. It is often referred to as “homosexual rape”. Gang rape is sexual violence by multiple offenders. Child pornography is material that is either made using children or through the use of modern technology, making the child appear used. It does not have to involve vulgar behavior, but it contains explicit content that is suggestive. Other types of sexual assault may include sexual exploitation by professionals, prostitution, drug-facilitated sexual assault, indecent exposure, sexual violence and the internet, female genital mutilation, and sexual violence within prisons (“Types of Sexual Assault”,