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 Understanding Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is when sex is used as a weapon by those with power against those without power. Sexual violence is a public health epidemic in the United States and in Ohio, impacting our family members, neighbors and friends. The term “sexual violence” encompasses all abusive and coercive acts of violence in which sex/sexuality is used as a weapon to harm, humiliate, control, exploit, and/or intimidate. It impacts individuals of all ages, and its pervasiveness knows no demographic boundaries. Sexual violence is a traumatic crime that affects survivors physically, mentally, emotionally, behaviorally and spiritually. It also impacts families, communities, and systems. Ending sexual violence is not just our vision as a society. It can be our reality.

Statistics regarding the prevalence of sexual violence are readily available, but vary widely depending on their source and how that source defines sexual violence and specific sex offenses. For the purposes of our work, OAESV defines sexual violence as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does: “Sexual violence (SV) is any sexual act that is perpetrated against someone’s will. SV encompasses a range of offenses, including a completed nonconsensual sex act (i.e., rape), an attempted nonconsensual sex act, abusive sexual contact (i.e., unwanted touching), and non-contact sexual abuse (e.g., threatened sexual violence, exhibitionism, verbal sexual harassment). All types involve victims who do not consent, or who are unable to consent or refuse to allow the act.”