What is Sexual Assault?

What is Sexual Assault?

Sexual Assault tends to be classified as rape. Movies and the media tend to say that sexual assault is only rape and that it happens to females who wear short skirts or dresses, walking around alone at night. However, this is not the only case of assault. Can it happen? Yes, it can happen to girls who walked around alone at night, however, what they were wearing does not get to dictate or justify any assault actions. Unfortunately, assault can happen to anyone and everyone. Men, women, non-binary people. Anyone. Assault has no gender.

According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, sexual assault is classified as:

  • Attempted rape

  • Fondling or unwanted rape

  • Forcing a victim to perform sexual acts

    • This includes oral sex or penetration of the perpetrator's body

  • Penetration of the victim's body, which means rape

    • This can include oral, anal, and/or vaginal penetration


This site is directed towards helping anyone who goes through any of these traumas. What is important to understand is that no matter, what you or anyone you know has gone through, one of those actions or many of those actions, to know that you are validated. No matter how you reacted in the moment to what was happening to you, or how you reacted for days, weeks, months, years after this happened, is all valid. Every person has a trauma response that kicks in, it makes you do anything and everything to survive in that moment. So, do not feel guilty or unworthy of help because you feel that "you could have done something else". You did what you had to do and that is what matters.

The assault definitions came from RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. This is a great resource to further understanding what sexual assault is, rape, what force is, gives tips into safety for parents and students, and more. The link to this website is below:

www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-assault


If you want to understand the trauma responses that are common with sexual assault, look to the information below:

In the moment that these actions are happening, people can fall within the fight, flight, freeze, or fauna trauma responses.

What does this mean?

Fight: Facing any of the perceived threat aggressively, this usually entails physically

Flight: Running away from the danger

Freeze: Unable to move or act against the threat

Fauna: Immediately trying to please the assaulter to avoid a conflict

*Any of these trauma responses are okay. It depends on the person for how they will respond to sexual violence. The reaction is them trying to stay alive. They may not be dying in the moment, but internally, it can feel like that. So, your brain reacts this way, and that is okay. There is no judgement here. Remember, it is okay. You did nothing wrong.

** If you want more information or have any more questions, please look at this website or email the link provided on the homepage.

Website: www.simplypsychology.org/fight-flight-freeze-fawn.html