Understanding Sexual Assault

Sexual assault can include rape, incest, forcible and non-forcible fondling and child molestation. Not all sexual assaults constitute rape, but all sexual assaults deserve to be taken seriously. In Ohio, major types of sexual assaults include:

• Sexual Imposition - unwanted touching of a person's erogenous zones for the purpose of sexual gratification. Think of erogenous zones as anything a bathing suit covers.
• Gross Sexual Imposition - unwanted touching when force or threat of force is used or when the victim is unable to give consent.
• Rape - oral, anal, or genital intercourse with an unwilling victim through force or threat of force or when the victim is unable to give consent. Rape includes attempted rape and rape with an object.

Sexual assault is not a crime of passion or act of lovemaking. It is an act of power, control, anger, and violence. Survivors of sexual assault are not responsible for their assaults; the perpetrator is.