Rape and sexual assault Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Rape and sexual assault - Essay Example In this paper I would like to examine what is actually meant by sexual assault. I will then study the statistics and finally the law that covers the sexual assault. The CCR website (1997) defines sexual assault as a physical or verbal act that threatens a person’s trust and safety and is sexual in nature. In a sexual assault the victims, either a girl or a boy, indulge into a sexual activity either forcefully or through deceit. Teenagers are more vulnerable to this act. This is the reason for which a number of cases related to adolescent molestation by a relative or a date make the headlines in the newspapers. Sexual assault often leads to other problems in teenagers as well which may include delinquent behavior, school problems, refusal to accept the authority and eating problems. Sexual assault by an acquaintance is the most common category of the assault. The acquaintance may be a close friend, a date, employer, colleague or a relative. In this category it is always the male who perpetrates the female. It is always the perpetrator, who is responsible for the act regardless of the fact what the victim was wearing or if she expressed her disapproval for the act or not. The CCR website (1997) puts 100% responsibility on the perpetrator. Rape is defined as an act of violence where sex is used as a weapon. In most of the cases the rapists fancy their own myths which they believe justify their act. Most of the rapists are of the view that if they spend money on a woman she becomes their rightful property. Others believe that women find it difficult to accept the offer for sex. Therefore they mean yes when they say no. Some others believe that women love to be aggressively pursued by the males (CCR website, 1997). The CA Code (n.d.) explains unlawful sexual intercourse as a sexual activity where the perpetrator indulges in sexual activity with a person other than the spouse and with a person less than eighteen years of