"Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, regardless of the relationship to the victim."
Any unwanted sexual act or activity that is committed against someone's will or without their full and informed consent. Sexual violence can take many forms, including assault, harassment, coercion, and trafficking, among others.
Rape culture: The normalization of sexual violence through societal attitudes and beliefs.
Gender-based violence: Violence that is experienced by individuals because of their gender identity or expression.
Sexual assault: Any unwanted sexual activity or behavior, including penetration, fondling, and groping.
Consent: The voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.
Victim blaming: The act of placing blame on the victim of sexual violence instead of on the perpetrator.
Intersectionality: The way in which different identities (such as race, gender, and sexuality) intersect and impact experiences of sexual violence.
Trauma: A psychological response to a distressing or disturbing event.
Survivors: Individuals who have experienced sexual violence.
Perpetrators: Individuals who commit sexual violence.
Healing: The process of recovering from the impacts of sexual violence.
Intimate partner violence: Violence that occurs within a relationship, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
Child sexual abuse: Sexual abuse that occurs to a child under the age of 18.
Sexual harassment: Unwanted sexual advances or behavior in the workplace, school, or other settings.
Pornography: Depictions of sexual activity for the purpose of arousal or entertainment.
Objectification: The reduction of an individual to their physical attributes and the disregarding of their humanity.
LGBTQ+ experiences of sexual violence: The ways in which LGBTQ+ individuals experience sexual violence and the unique barriers they face in seeking support.
Rape prevention: Strategies and efforts to prevent sexual violence.
Sexual violence in different cultural contexts: The ways in which sexual violence manifests in different cultures and societies.
Advocacy and support: Resources and organizations that support survivors of sexual violence.
Media representations of sexual violence: The way in which sexual violence is portrayed in popular culture and the impacts of such representations.
Sexual harassment: Involves unwanted sexual advances, touching or comments that are offensive or unwelcome.
Sexual assault: Non-consensual sexual contact, including penetration, fondling, or other forms of sexual activity.
Rape: Forced sexual intercourse without consent.
Incest: Sexual abuse committed by a family member.
Child Sexual Abuse: Any sexual activity with a child under the age of 18.
Sexual exploitation: Using another person's sexuality for personal gain.
Sexual trafficking: Selling or trading someone for sexual purposes.
Sexual coercion: Forcing someone to engage in sexual activity through threats or manipulation.
"It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations."
"It is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations."
"It has a profound short or long-term impact on physical and mental health, such as an increased risk of sexual and reproductive health problems, an increased risk of suicide or HIV infection."
"Though women and girls suffer disproportionately from these aspects, sexual violence can occur to anybody at any age."
"It is an act of violence that can be perpetrated by parents, caregivers, acquaintances and strangers, as well as intimate partners."
"It is rather an aggressive act that frequently aims to express power and dominance over the victim."
"In general, it is a widely underreported phenomenon, thus available data tend to underestimate the true scale of the problem."
"Sexual violence is also a neglected area of research, thus deeper understanding of the issue is imperative in order to promote a coordinated movement against it."
"Domestic sexual violence is distinguished from conflict-related sexual violence."
"Often, people who coerce their spouses into sexual acts believe their actions are legitimate because they are married."
"Rape of women and of men is often used as a method of warfare (war rape), as a form of attack on the enemy, typifying the conquest and degradation of its women or men or captured male or female fighters."
"Even if strongly prohibited by international human rights law, customary law and international humanitarian law..."
"Enforcement mechanisms are still fragile or even non-existent in many corners of the world."
"It took until the end of the 20th century for sexual violence to no longer be considered a minor issue..."
"From a historical perspective, sexual violence was considered as only happening to women and as being commonplace and 'normal' during both war and peace times from the Ancient Greeks to the 20th century."
"This led to the negligence of any indications of what the methods, aims, and magnitude of such violence was."
"It took until the end of the 20th century for sexual violence to...gradually become criminalized."
"Sexual violence remains highly stigmatized in all settings."
"In general, it is a widely underreported phenomenon, thus available data tend to underestimate the true scale of the problem."