Types of Sexual Violence and Abuse
Sexual violence can often result in the survivor feeling lost and confused, maybe even questioning if they were sexually abused. We are here to help bring past atrocities to light by outlining the different types of sexual assault to make identifying experiences more accessible.
Sexual violence and abuse are extremely difficult topics to open up about, especially when the form of abuse is not immediately clear. At Jeff Anderson & Associates, we are trained to help survivors throughout the healing process. One of the initial steps is being able to identify which category describes your experience best, which we hope to help with in this article.
If you begin to question if you are a survivor of sexual violence and would like some guidance, please reach out to us for a free and confidential consultation.
Types of Sexual Violence
- Sexual Assault: Sexual assault is the broad term applicable to any kind of unwanted physical contact in a sexual context. This can be groping or unwanted touch over clothing, forced kissing, or many other kinds of non-consensual touching. Sexual assault is one of the most common forms of sexual violence.
- Rape: Rape is the act of forced penetration of a person. There are many different types of rape, each highly dependent on the situation in which the assault is perpetrated. These include date rape, war rape, drug-induced rape, and more.
- Sexual Exploitation: Sexual exploitation occurs when a person in a position of power coerces a person into sexual acts for gifts, fame, money, or promises of career advancement. This is often done with threats of tarnishing their career, physical violence, public shame, and other negative repercussions. Sexual exploitation can be committed through in-person contact or via online routes. Sex trafficking is a common type of sexual exploitation.
- Child Sexual Abuse: This occurs when a minor is subjected to any kind of sexual act, most often perpetrated by a trusted adult such as a priest, teacher, or family friend. The definition of a child varies from state to state, but a majority categorize a child as someone under the age of 16 or 18. We strive to seek justice for all victims of child sexual abuse that are courageous enough to come forward. For first-hand accounts from survivors and testimonies of healing, click here.
- Exhibitionism and Voyeurism: These forms of sexual violence do not involve physical touch but instead focuses on mental distress. Exhibitionism or voyeurism occurs when someone is made to watch the predator perform sexual acts on themselves or others. This can include the filming of sexual acts without the partner’s knowledge and the dissemination of Child Sexual Abuse Materials, also known as child pornography.
- Sexual Harassment: Sexual Harassment occurs when a person receives unwanted sexual behavior or comments. This can be catcalling, sexual gestures, or attempting to coerce a person to commit sexual acts.
There are many other forms of sexual violence, however these are the most common types that we come across at Jeff Anderson & Associates.
What to do About Different Types of Sexual Assault
If you are a survivor of sexual violence and you believe that the perpetrator is still a danger to others, immediately call 911 to report these actions. This will ensure that future victims in contact with the predator will not have to go through the traumatic experience that you were forced to. If you believe that the predator is not an immediate danger to others, the first step to take would be to contact a well-known law firm to receive legal advice. Even if you believe your predator to be deceased, we greatly encourage you to still report this, since it will still allow us at Jeff Anderson & Associates to combat institutional cover-ups and possibly save more people from becoming impacted.
Take the First Step with a Free Legal Consultation with Jeff Anderson & Associates
There are many different forms of sexual assault and sexual violence, however the bottom line is that all types are extremely harmful and utterly illegal. At Jeff Anderson & Associates, we have made it our mission to bring justice to those who commit these atrocities and ensure that survivors’ voices are heard. We would be honored to help you in any way that we can, and we are proud to dedicate our lives to representing survivors across the country. Please do not hesitate to reach out for a free and confidential consultation with us.