WHAT IS SEXUAL ASSAULT?

Read Macalester College's Sexual Assault Policy »

Sexual assault is any form of unwanted sexual contact obtained without consent and/or obtained through the use of force, threat of force, intimidation, or coercion. Sexual assault is an act of violence and power. It is a criminal act that can be prosecuted under Minnesota state law, as well as under the College's policies.

A sexual assault can range from unwanted sexual contact over the clothes, like touching someone's buttock or fondling their breasts, to rape. The legal system has created five different levels of unwanted sexual contact and penetration. The degree of a sexual assault incident depends on the severity of the assault. As danger to the victim increases, so do the corresponding penalties for the perpetrator. Legally, an assault is considered more dangerous when weapons, force, considerable bodily harm, multiple assailants, and/or pregnancy are results of the sexual assault.

Links to Minnesota Statutes concerning sexual violence can be found at http://www.mncasa.org/svji_legal_links.html

It is important to remember that sexual assault takes many forms, some of which do not involve penetration. Also, everyone responds to traumatic events like sexual assault differently and regardless of the degree of sexual assault, a survivor's individual experience and feelings must be supported and respected.

Consent

Consent is clear, unambiguous, affirmative, and mutually understood permission and agreement for each level of increased intimacy from holding hands to intercourse. Minnesota law clearly states that consent does not mean the existence of a prior or current social relationship between the perpetrator and the complainant or that the complainant failed to resist a particular sexual act.

If physical force, coercion, intimidation, and/or threats are used, there is no consent. If the victim/survivor is mentally or physically incapacitated or impaired so that they cannot understand the sexual situation, there is no consent. This includes impairment due to alcohol or drug consumption and being asleep or unconscious.

That means if one person is impaired because of drug or alcohol, consent is not possible.

It is also important to understand what is meant by “coercion.”

Under MN Statute 609.342-3451:.

"Coercion" means the use by the actor of words or circumstances that cause the complainant reasonably to fear that the actor will inflict bodily harm upon the complainant or another, or the use by the actor of confinement, or superior size or strength, against the complainant that causes the complainant to submit to sexual penetration or contact against the complainant's will. Proof of coercion does not require proof of a specific act or threat.

What this definition states is that if the word “no” was not spoken and sexual contact takes place, it could be a sexual assault if one person believed that not going along with the act would result in bodily harm.

more»

Same-sex sexual assault

Same-sex sexual assault is when a sexual assault occurs and the victim and the perpetrator are the same sex. This does not necessarily mean that the victim or the perpetrator necessarily identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

Same-sex sexual assault involves any type of unwanted sexual contact obtained without consent and/or obtained through the use of force, threat of force, intimidation, or coercion. Same-sex sexual assault can happen on a date, or between friends, acquaintances, partners, or strangers.

more»

Who can be assaulted?

Sexual assault can happen to anyone regardless of age, race, gender, class status, sexual orientation, ability, religion, or physical appearance. There is no particular time of day or place where sexual assault does not occur. There are things that we can do to reduce our risks of experiencing sexual assault, but the only person who can stop rape completely is the person committing the sexual assault. Rape is never the survivor’s fault. It is often easier to blame ourselves for our experiences of violence than it is to believe that we live in a world where someone would choose to harm us.

How often does sexual assault occur?

Here are some statistics that indicate the prevalence of rape and sexual assault on college campuses:

• Female college freshmen are at the highest risk for sexual assault between the first day of school and Thanksgiving break.
• In a 1-year time period, 3% of college women are victims of completed or attempted rape.
• 1 out of 10 college women have been raped in their lifetime.
  
• For women who have been raped in college, 9 out of 10 offenders were known to the victim.
• Sexual assaults in college are more likely to occur at night and in someone's residence (either the victim's or the perpetrator’s).
• 90% of campus rapes involve alcohol use by the assailant or the victim.
• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men will experience some form of sexual assault before reaching the age of 18.
• Women with disabilities are twice as likely to experience a sexual assault than are able-bodied women.
• Women of color experience a higher rate of sexual assault than white women.
• Regardless of the race/ethnicity of the survivor, the perpetrator is most likely to be from the survivor’s race/ethnic group.
• The number one place where we experience sexual violence is in our own homes.
  
• 1 out of 6 college women have been raped or have been the victim of an attempted rape during the past year. (Weitzman, E., DeJong, W. and Finn, P. Alcohol and Acquaintance Rape: Strategies to Protect Yourself and Each Other. The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. U.S. Department of Education, 1999).
• 1 out of 15 male students raped or attempted to rape a woman during the past year. (Weitzman, E., DeJong, W. and Finn, P. Alcohol and Acquaintance Rape: Strategies to Protect Yourself and Each Other. The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. U.S. Department of Education, 1999).
• Only 5% of undergraduate women reported their sexual assault to police. (Schwartz, M. and Leggett, M. Bad Dates or Emotional Trauma: The Aftermath of Campus Sexual Assault. Violence Against Women, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 1999).