Sexual Assault

Mariama McGhee
Sophomore
UPREP High School

Hello ladies! Today’s topic will be on sexual assault. You will be learning how much harm it can be to females nationwide, if you don't speak up. The information on sexual assault is provided courtesy of PLEA (Public Legal Education Association). Please take a moment to read this information with utmost care.

What is sexual assault?

Sexual assault is a crime. It involves sexual contact, such as kissing, touching, fondling and intercourse, without consent.
A person may be charged with:
sexual assault, or
sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm, or
aggravated sexual assault

What is consent?

Consent means to voluntarily agree to engage in sexual activity. When threats or force are used to obtain consent, that consent is not voluntary. If a person, such as your boss, teacher, doctor or family member, uses power they have over you to obtain your consent, your consent is not voluntary.

Consent must be clear. If you are too afraid to yell or resist or fight back, your consent cannot be implied. You have the right to decide whether to have sexual relations with another person.

You can consent to some sexual activities without consenting to all sexual activities. For example, you may agree to go on a date and to hold hands or kiss. You may have agreed to have sexual relations on previous occasions. Agreeing to any or all of these things does not mean you consent to other sexual contact. You have the right to say “No” to anything, at any time. No one has the right to force you into unwanted sexual activity, no matter what has happened before. “No” means “no” - always.

Sexual Assault is Wrong

Anyone who forces sexual activity on you can be charged with the offence of sexual assault. It does not matter whether the person is a stranger or someone you know, such as a date, friend, relative, spouse or partner. Sexual assault is a crime.

What to do

If you are sexually assaulted you should get help right away. You can contact the police, a doctor or sexual assault centre. A sexual assault centre can send someone to give you support and information, accompany you to the hospital and help you work through the process of deciding whether to report the incident to the police.

It is important to get medical attention, even if the assault did not involve sexual intercourse. If you decide to seek medical attention or to report the incident to the police, you should not clean yourself, change or throw away your clothes, comb your hair, or take any drugs or alcohol. If you do any of these things it may be harder to gather evidence about the person who attacked you.

Even if you do any of these things you should still seek medical attention and call the police. It is a good idea to write everything you remember down on paper. Your notes may be helpful if you need to give evidence at a later time.

If you were sexually assaulted a long time ago but didn't report it at the time, you may still decide to report it. The police can investigate and determine whether there is enough evidence to lay charges.

My next entry will address resources you can use to receive help. Stay tuned.