Sexual abuse is when someone does sexual things to another person without their permission or when they are forced or threatened to do it (American Psychological Association, 2017). This can be any type of sexual behavior, even if it’s not physical, where the person being abused may have said no or been unable to say yes or no. Sexual assault is another term that means the same thing as sexual abuse. It’s very serious and is considered a crime in most places (The United States Justice Department, 2017).
Child sexual abuse is when an adult does sexual things to a child, and it can include behaviors that adults might see as sexual harassment (Fasting, 2019). The age of the child and the situation are important when deciding if something is sexual harassment or abuse (Fasting, 2019). Examples of sexual abuse can include trying to rape someone or making them do sexual things, like oral sex or touching inappropriately. With child sexual abuse, it can include things like touching a child inappropriately, exposing them to sexual content or making them participate in sexual acts (Fasting, 2019).
American Psychological Association. (2017). Retrieved 29.05.17 from http://www.apa.org/topics/sexual-abuse/.
Fasting, K. (2019). In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts. Academic Press.
Mountjoy, M., Brackenridge, C. H., Arrington, M., Blauwet, C., Carska-Sheppard, A., & Budgett, R. (2016). The IOC Consensus Statement: Harassment and abuse (non-accidental violence) in sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50 (17), 10191029.
The United States Justice Department. (2017). Retrieved 1.06.17 from https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault.
