Terms And Definitions

Rape is a term used for many forms of sexual assault and abuse. It is sometimes used metaphorically to describe what it feels like when we are forced to undergo any unwarranted intrusion into our personal and private space which caused us to suffer a meaningful loss of control. In all its varied forms, rape is likely to leave us emotionally traumatized, physically insulted or injured and spiritually stunned or even lost.

Trauma is a term describing both a dire event and our inner response to it. There are many definitions of trauma. What we mean by trauma here is that you have suffered either a profound and meaningful loss of control, a moment of surrender to inevitable danger, the belief that you were facing possible death, or all three.

Sexual Assault describes many different situations of being forced or manipulated into involuntary sexual activity. It covers any imposed or forced sexual activity whether you were touched or not. Some examples are vaginal, anal or oral penetration (in any degree), molestation (any unwanted touch that is sexual in tone), incest, sexual harassment (emotional, verbal, physical), sexual terrorizing, attacks related to sexual orientation, exposure of sexual parts, or voyeurism.

Sexual Abuse is often used interchangeably with 'sexual assault' but adds the inference that the intrusive events have been repeated over a period of time. It can also imply that the incidents were not violent in any conventional sense but nonetheless caused emotional, mental, and/or physical harm. Sexual abuse is most often used in reference to the victimization of children.