Forms of sexual assault




What is sexual assault?

Sexual assault happens when someone touches another person in a sexual manner without their consent. Or when someone makes another person take part in a sexual activity with them without that person's consent. It includes unwanted kissing and sexual touching.




Sexual assault refers to many different forms of sexual violence – the phrase we use to describe any sexual activity or act that happened without consent.



Any sexual assault is a serious crime that  can have a lasting impact on the victim or survivor. No-one ever deserves or asks for it to happen. 100% of the blame lies with the perpetrator or perpetrators.

You might have heard people talking about sexual assault on TV shows or in the news. However, because it's such a broad term, lots of people aren't sure what it really means.

But, the most important thing to remember is: if someone has done something sexual to another person without their consent then it's sexual violence. And it's always serious.

How sexual assault is defined in law

The legal definition of sexual assault is when someone intentionally touches another person in a sexual manner, without that person’s consent.


someone commits sexual assault if all of the following happens:


They intentionally touch another person.


  • The touching is sexual.
  • The other person does not consent to the touching.
  • They do not reasonably believe that the other person consents.
  • The touching can be with any part of the body or with anything else.

It could include:

  • Kissing.
  • Attempted rape.
  • Touching someone’s breasts or genitals – including through clothing.
  • Touching any other part of the body for sexual pleasure or in a sexual manner – for example, stroking someone’s thigh or rubbing their back.
  • Pressing up against another person for sexual pleasure.
  • Pressuring, manipulating or scaring someone into performing a sexual act on the perpetrator.
  • Touching someone’s clothing if done for sexual pleasure or in a sexual manner – for example, lifting up someone’s skirt.

However, please know that this is not a full list. Just because something isn’t included here doesn’t mean it isn’t sexual assault.

What is consent?

Consenting to someone touching you in a sexual manner means agreeing to it by choice and having both the freedom and capacity to make that choice.

It is NOT consent if you or someone else was:

  • Asleep, unconscious, drunk, drugged or 'on' drugs.
  • Pressured, manipulated, tricked or scared into saying yes.
  • Too young or vulnerable to have the freedom and capacity to make that choice.


  • Consent can be withdrawn at any time, including during sex or a sexual act. Just because someone consented to something before doesn’t mean they consented to it happening again.

If someone’s unsure whether the other person is giving their consent for something sexual, they should always check with them.

Does sexual assault have to involve force?

It’s a really common myth about sexual assault, rape and other kinds of sexual violence and abuse that they have to involve physical force or leave the person with visible injuries. But that isn’t true.

There are many other ‘tactics’ that someone might use to sexually assault someone. For example:

  • pressure
  • manipulation
  • bullying
  • intimidation
  • threats
  • deception
  • drugs or alcohol

BUT, none of these have to have happened for it to still be sexual assault.

Many people find themselves unable to speak or move when faced with a scary, shocking or dangerous situation. If that happened, it does not mean the person gave their consent.

And if there’s no consent then it is always sexual assault.


What is NOT considered consent in sexual activity?

  • Silence. Just because someone does not say "no" doesn't mean she is saying "yes."
  • Having consented before. Just because someone said "yes" in the past does not mean she is saying "yes" now. Consent must be part of every sexual activity, every time.
  • Being in a relationship. Being married, dating, or having sexual contact with someone before does not mean that there is consent now.
  • Being drunk or high. Read more about alcohol, drugs, and sexual assault.
  • Not fighting back. Not putting up a physical fight does not mean that there is consent.
  • Sexy clothing, dancing, or flirting. What a woman or girl wears or how she behaves does not show consent for sexual activity. Only a verbal "yes" means "yes" to sexual activity.

Types of sexual offences 

There are a range of crimes that can be considered sexual offences, and in this section we set out some of the main offence types the PPS prosecutes.

A full list of offences considered to be sexual offences can be found by clicking the link.  

Offence types

Rape

A rape is when a person uses their penis without consent to penetrate the vagina, mouth or anus of another person. Rape is one of the most serious criminal offences that can be perpetrated. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has a policy document providing guidance about how decisions as to prosecution in relation to rape are taken and the assistance which will be given to victims and witnesses. 

Sexual Assault by Penetration

Sexual assault by penetration is when a person (either male or female) penetrates the vagina or anus of another person with any part of their body or an object without that person’s consent.

Sexual Assault

Sexual Assault is when a person (either male or female) touches another person sexually without their consent.

Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse involves forcing, inciting, persuading or enticing a child to take part in sexual activity. This may involve physical contact including rape or oral sex or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching inside or outside of clothing. It may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities or exploiting or grooming a child in preparation for abuse.

Extreme pornography

Extreme pornography describes pornographic images that are grossly offensive, disgusting or obscene, and portray a range of extreme acts in an explicit and realistic way. This may include images of extreme violence, mutilation, or sexual activity with an animal that are intended to sexually arouse.  It is illegal to possess, distribute or make extreme pornography.

Disclosing private sexual images without consent (so-called ‘revenge pornography’)

This relates to private sexual photographs and films of a person that have been disclosed without the consent of an individual who appears in them, with intent to cause that individual distress.  An example is uploading such images onto the internet, often by a person’s ex-partner, to cause them distress, humiliation or embarrassment.

Indecent images of children 

It is an offence to take, to permit to be taken, to make, to possess, show, or to distribute or publish an image of a child posed or pictured indecently, for example in a sexual way. This can also include images of adults involved in indecent act where a child is present but not themselves portrayed indecently. Images can include actual photographs or video footage, drawings or tracings, or images created digitally. ‘Making’ an indecent image does not just refer to a person taking a photo or video - it can also refer to a person downloading or printing an indecent image, or opening an email attachment containing an indecent image.

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