Title: Sexual Assault: What is It? | Sexual Assault | INSPQ
Headings: Sexual Assault: What is It?
Sexual Assault: What is It?
Definitions
References

Content: However, even though the term “sexual assault” can also include assault against minors, we have decided to use the term “sexual abuse” for sexual assault that targets specifically minors and young people. Definitions
Types
Sexual offences
Definitions
This media kit will discuss four different perspectives on sexual assault, i.e., political, legal, clinical and scientific perspectives, and the different definitions of sexual assault associated with each one. The Québec government has provided a definition of sexual assault from a political perspective in a policy document entitled Orientations gouvernementales en matière d’agressions sexuelles
(link is external)
[government directions on sexual assault]. This definition demonstrates the wide array of sexual assault situations that exist, and describes this type of assault as an act of power and domination that is criminal in nature. 1
[TRANSLATION]
“Sexual assault is a sexual act, with our without physical contact, committed by an individual without the consent of the victim or, in some cases, and especially when children are involved, through emotional manipulation or blackmail. It is an act that subjects another person to the perpetrator’s desires through an abuse of power, the use of force or coercion, or implicit or explicit threats. Sexual assault violates the victim’s fundamental rights, including the right to physical and psychological integrity and security of the person (p. 22). This definition applies regardless of the age, sex, culture, religion or sexual orientation of the victim or of the perpetrator of the assault, regardless of the type of sexual act committed or the place or life setting in which it is committed, and regardless of the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. Certain other terms are also used to refer to sexual assault, including “rape,” sexual abuse,” “sexual offence,” “sexual contact,” “incest,” “prostitution” and “child pornography.” In Canada, the offences of rape and indecent assault were replaced by the offence of sexual assault in 1983.