What is Sexual Violence?

Sexual violence is defined as a sexual act committed against someone without that person’s freely given consent (consent that is explicit and enthusiastic). Sexual violence occurs when a person is forced, coerced, or manipulated into sexual activity. Sexual violence describes unwanted sexual contact such as sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment, threatened sexual violence, or peeping. Sexual harassment and threatened sexual violence often involved unwanted verbal sexual advances or comments. Sexual assault and rape involve unwanted physical sexual contact. Sexual violence is about power and control and not about sexual attraction.

What Does Sexual Violence Look Like?

If you are forced, pressured, coerced, or manipulated into sexual activity that you do not want — even if you had sex with the person before, know the person, trusted the person, didn’t fight back or say no, were using drugs or alcohol, haven’t told anyone, or it happened a long time ago, you could be experiencing sexual violence. Sexual violence includes being touched, grabbed, or groped without your explicit and enthusiastic consent or in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable. You could be a victim-survivor of sexual violence if you are or have been:

• Forced into taking sexual pictures or videos

• Being verbally or physically harassed by someone.

• Someone is using unwanted sexual language towards you

• Forced into doing sexual things that you don’t want to

• Manipulated into having sex with someone else, or to perform sex acts on yourself

• Penetrated vaginally, orally, or anally against your consent

• Had videos or pictures taken without your knowledge and consent

• Coerced into watching pornography or other sexual content

• Someone is using physical force to get you to engage in sexual activity (including oral sex, intercourse, or penetration of any kind)

• Pressured or threatened to engage in any kind of sexual activity

• Told that if you don’t do something sexual, you or someone you love will be hurt

• Forced into taking drugs or alcohol to induce sexual activity

• Pressured to have sex even when you say “NO”

If you are experiencing one or more of these behaviors please contact us at (816) 561-0550 or info@kcavp.org.

To learn about our services for survivors of sexual violence, please click here.