Sexual Assault is…

• a gesture, words, attitudes of a sexual nature, with or without physical contact, committed by an individual without the consent of the other person;
•  an act of domination, humiliation, abuse of power and violence mainly directed at women and children;
• a behavior to subject another person to someone’s own desires through the use of force, of coercion, of intimidation, of blackmail, of manipulation, of implied or explicit threats.

Sexual assault is an attack on one’s basic rights, including the right to physical and psychological integrity as well as one’s physical safety.

This definition applies regardless of :

• the age, sex, culture, religious beliefs, sexual orientation of the victim or the perpetrator;
• the nature of the sexual act;
• the location or the environment it took place;
• the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator.

Sexual assault encompasses terms such as : rape, sexual abuse, sexual offense, sexual contact, incest, etc.