A guide for Australian adults and teenagers on types of sexual violence
Content warning: This article discusses and provides examples of different examples of sexual violence. Please look after yourselves when reading.
Sexual assault can take many forms, but often when people ask about sexual assault, they are actually talking about a broader category called sexual violence. You may already have a bit of an idea of what sexual violence is, but did you know that there are many different forms of sexual violence (including sexual assault)? And lots of them don’t even necessarily involve physical touch!
Read on to learn about the different types of sexual violence recognised in Australia.
What is sexual violence?
Contrary to what many people think, sexual violence is more than rape and physical sexual assaults. Sexual violence can actually be:
any unwanted sexual act
trying to get someone to do a sexual act they don’t want to do
sexual comments that the other person doesn’t want to hear
someone flirting or making sexual advances with someone who doesn’t want this
And these are just the beginning. Sexual violence can be used by anyone - regardless of their relationship to the other person. It can also occur in any setting - including at work, school, or in the home.
Here are some other quick facts that many people don’t actually realise about sexual violence:
People of all genders can experience sexual violence
Sexual violence is still a crime even if you are in a relationship with the person
False reports of rape and other forms of sexual violence are incredibly uncommon (in fact, many instances of sexual violence are never actually reported at all)
What the victim/survivor was wearing, doing or saying has nothing to do with them experiencing sexual violence
Most sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim/survivor knows personally
Sexual violence is not always physical
some examples of sexual violence
What is Sexual AssaulT?
This term refers to many different types of sexual violence that have criminal implications and consequences. Sexual assault includes physical acts such as rape, which involves sexually penetrating the mouth, anus or vagina without the person’s consent. Rape is the most common act that people think of when they hear the terms sexual violence or sexual assault, but it is by no means the only example. Some other types of sexual assault include indecent assault, stealthing and sexual coercion (including drug facilitated sexual violence).
What is Indecent Assault
This is a specific type of sexual assault. Indecent assault can look like:
touching someone sexually against their will
exposing somebody else’s body without their consent (for example, taking off their shirt or pulling down their pants)
kissing someone when they don’t want to be kissed
taking off your own clothes when the person/people around you doesn’t want you to do so
touching breasts, buttocks or genitals without consent
What Is Stealthing?
Stealthing has recently started being recognised as a form of sexual violence in Australian laws, as a type of sexual assault. It became illegal in Victoria when affirmative consent laws were introduced.
Stealthing is when a person doesn’t use, takes off, or tampers with a condom without the other person’s consent. This can look like:
telling the person you’re being sexual with that you’re wearing a condom when you’re not
taking a condom off during a sexual act without obtaining consent to do this
tearing a condom without the other person agreeing for you to do this
What is Sexual Coercion?
Sexual coercion is a type of sexual assault that does not involve any kind of physical touch or tactics. If someone uses any form of pressure or threats to get someone else to do something sexual with them, that is sexual coercion. If a person uses trickery to get someone else to be sexual with them in any way, that is also sexual coercion.
Sexual coercion can look like:
telling someone you really need to have sex because otherwise you will feel uncomfortable (a coercion tactic often referred to as “blue balls”)
telling your partner that you will break up with them if they don’t do something sexual with you
saying things like “if you really loved me, you’d send me a nude picture”
asking someone over and over to do something sexual with you
pretending to be someone else to get someone to do something sexual with you (for example, taking your friend’s phone and messaging their girlfriend, asking for a nude picture)
lying because you think you will make another person more likely to do something sexual with you (for example telling someone you are a movie star or a model, when that’s not true)
What is Drug Facilitated Sexual Violence (DFSV)?
Drug facilitated sexual violence is when somebody isn’t able to give their consent to a sexual act because they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If someone isn’t able to withdraw their consent (for example, change their mind during a sexual act) because of alcohol or drugs, this is also drug facilitated sexual violence.
DFSV can happen when a person puts alcohol or drugs into somebody’s drinks without their knowledge (drink spiking), but this doesn’t have to be the case. If someone drinks or takes drugs willingly, someone can still use drug facilitated sexual violence against them by engaging them in sexual acts without their consent.
This is a type of sexual coercion, and also classed as sexual assault.
What is Reproductive Coercion?
Reproductive coercion is when a person does or says something to someone else in order to:
lead the other person to become pregnant
force them to terminate their pregnancy (get an abortion)
continue with an unwanted pregnancy (not get an abortion)
This could look like:
telling someone they are not allowed to use birth control (the pill, condoms etc)
sabotaging someone’s birth control (poking holes in condoms - which is also an example of stealthing)
threatening or using physical violence in order to control someone’s pregnancy
threatening or using sexual violence in order to control someone’s pregnancy
What is Sexual Harassment?
While sexual harassment can involve sexual touching, it often doesn’t actually include any physical touch at all. Sexual harassment is any kind of sexual words or actions directed at someone who doesn’t want them. This includes:
text messages (including pictures/videos/cartoons)
commenting on or talking about sexual things
making innuendos
What is Technology Facilitated Sexual Violence (TFSV)?
Technology facilitated sexual violence can be absolutely any kind of sexual violence that happens with the use of the internet, social media, or over the phone (including voice calls).
One specific example of technology facilitated sexual violence is image-based abuse. This is when a person, without consent, takes a sexual video or photo of someone, and publishes or sends it to anyone else. Even if the person had consent to take the video or photo in the first place, it is still a form of sexual violence to make it available for anyone else to see without consent. And if the person in the video or photo is underage, it is also classed as child abuse material (which you may have heard of as child pornography), and can result in serious charges.
Digitally altered or created images are also examples of technology facilitated sexual violence. This means that editing a picture in photoshop to make someone look naked, or creating an AI video of someone doing a sexual act, is a form of sexual violence.
What is Sexual Exploitation?
This form of sexual violence involves using a person for sexual purposes in a way that provides the person using sexual violence with some form of profit or gain. Some examples might be:
using a person in a sexual way in order for the perpetrator to make money
using a person sexually in order to gain social status or respect
using a person sexually to achieve certain political goals or outcomes
trafficking people to work in the sex industry
What is Child Sexual Abuse?
In Victoria the age of consent is 16. This means that engaging in any sexual act with someone who is under 16 is considered child sexual abuse. This includes sexual behaviours that can be physical, emotional and/or verbal.
Sometimes a perpetrator may use their power or authority over a child or young person in order to try to stop them from telling anybody about the abuse.
There is a defense to this law in Victoria, however. If two people over 12 years old engage in a sexual act, they may not be convicted of a crime in Victoria if they are both consenting, there is no more than a two year age gap between them, and one of them isn’t in a position of power over the other.
What is Female Genital Cutting?
This form of sexual violence is when parts of or all of the vulva are injured, damaged or removed for any reason that is not medical. It is also known as female circumcision, or female genital mutilation (FGM).
Victim/survivors of female genital cutting most often experience this form of sexual violence very young, between infancy and 15 years of age. There are no health benefits to female genital cutting. There can be severe health risks for victim/survivors, including difficulty urinating, developing cysts and infections, and complications if they ever give birth.
A lot of people believe that female genital cutting doesn't occur in Australia, but this is very far from the truth.
How can I talk about sexual violence with my students and kids?
Having discussions with young people around sexual violence is vital in working towards reducing the instances of sexual violence within our society. But where can you start? It can feel overwhelming, or a bit like a minefield, if you don’t know what language to use to make these conversations feel as safe as possible for everyone involved.
Here’s a bit of an overview of the current best practices when it comes to speaking about sexual violence.
Victim/survivor
People who have experienced sexual violence will choose the language they are most comfortable with to describe their own experiences. The term victim/survivor has emerged as a way to acknowledge the fact that someone has experienced sexual violence due to another person’s actions (victim), while also acknowledging that a person can recover from their experience (survivor).
Perpetrator
This term is used in order to place the emphasis on the accountability of the person who has used sexual violence against someone else. As a teacher or a parent, you might find it more productive to use the term person who uses sexual violence instead - because when working with young people, especially young men, terms like perpetrator can actually create a bit of a barrier. Describing someone as a person who uses sexual violence can teach young men that using violence is a choice - and reinforce that they should make kind and empathetic decisions rather than choosing any kind of violence.
Some other tips that you can use when talking to young people about sexual violence:
avoid starting the conversation out of context, as this can feel quite stressful
let them know what you want to talk about before jumping straight into it, and consider allowing them some time to mentally prepare for the conversation, eg: "I'd like to have a chat with you after dinner about all the sexual violence that has been reported in the news lately"
avoid the use of euphemistic terms to describe sexual violence (eg: ‘sexual misconduct’, ‘inappropriate behaviour)
use inclusive language (eg: when someone is raped, rather than when a woman is raped)
don’t ever allow anyone to “joke” or laugh about any kind of sexual violence
don’t accept outdated stereotypes such as “boys will be boys”
never stand for any form of victim blaming (eg: what did she expect, getting so drunk?)
validate victim/survivor experiences without minimising or trivialising the impacts of sexual violence
By being more clued in on the type of language to use when discussing sexual violence, you will be able to guide conversations that help people to better understand sexual violence. This will help empower young people throughout their lives, and in their relationships.
Have you, or someone you know, experienced sexual violence?
If you, or someone you know, has experienced or used sexual violence, or if reading this has brought something up for you, there is support available. Some places you can turn to include:
Kids Helpline (for 13-17 year olds)
eSafety Commissioner (if something has happened online)
The information in this article is based on information distributed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
To learn more about Victoria’s new affirmative consent laws, sign up for our free online course.
Eleonora Bertsa-Fuchs [she/they] and Mel Brush [he/they] are experts in fostering a culture of consent and LGBTIQA+ inclusion. For every booking for their training and keynote speeches they create free educational resources to help prevent gender based violence.
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