What You Need To Know About Sexual Assault

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How much do you know about sexual assault?

  • Sexual assault happens when the victim does not give consent

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 Consent is:            

  • An agreement between people to engage in sexual activity

  • Consent must be freely given in person

  • A person can change their mind at any time to give or take away consent

  • A person must want to give consent and cannot be forced

  • A person can say what specific things they consent to and what they do not

  • In New York State, the legal age to give consent is 17

 What sexual assault might look like:

  • Unwanted sexual touching

  • Forcing a person to do sexual acts on another person’s body

  • Showing inappropriate body parts to other people

  • Inappropriate phone calls, text messages or other digital interaction

  • Sex trafficking (Act of using people to make money from sex)

  • Producing, owning or sharing pornographic images or movies of children

  • Rape or attempted rape

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According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) 433,648 Americans aged 12 and older are victimized each year. Sexual assault can happen to anyone and sometimes these acts are done by people that the person being assaulted knows.

 Reasons people do not always report being sexually assaulted:

  • Fear of revenge

  • Embarrassment

  • Shame

  • Fear of not being believed

  • Lack of trust in the police and courts

  • The person who did the assaulting is someone they know and love

  • The person is confused and not sure if the act was sexual assault

  • The person is being told that they are responsible for the assault

Things that can happen to a person after they are sexually assaulted include:

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  • Depression

  • Memories of the assault that are upsetting

  • Mental and emotional stress

  • Eating disorders

  • Using drugs / alcohol

  • Anxiety

  • Thoughts / acts of suicide or hurting themselves

  • Trouble sleeping

  • Pregnancy

  • Sexually transmitted infections.

Ways that you can help a person who has been a victim of sexual assault:                                    

  • Listen

  • Do not judge them

  • Say things like “I believe You”, “It’s not your fault”, “You are not alone” and “I’m sorry this happened”

  • Let the person know that you are there to help them

  • Check on them often with a phone call, text or in person

How can you help prevent sexual assault?

RAINN describes 4 steps that you can take to help someone you think is in danger, those steps are called CARE:

Create a distraction: Interrupt the situation by cutting off the conversation

Ask directly: Talk to the person who might be in danger and ask them questions like “would you like me to stay with you”?

Refer to an authority: If possible, talk to a police officer, security guard, bouncer or other employee or call 911

Enlist others: Ask other people around to help you by telling them what is happening and have them come with you or send them over to help

 If you want more information, these resources are always available. National Sexual Assault Line: 1-800-656-HOPE

We at FPS know that this can be scary to deal with, especially talk about. We want you to know that you are not alone and that we can help you start the conversation to decide together the next step in what you may need. For an appointment, call or text 315-325-2010!

Josh Amidon