- Sexual Violence: An all-encompassing, non-legal term that refers to crimes like sexual assault, rape, and sexual abuse. Sexual violence is accomplished through threat, coercion, exploitation, deceit, force, physical or mental incapacitation, and/or power of authority.
- Consent: Words or overt actions by a person who is legally or functionally competent to give informed approval, indicating a freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact.
- Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome and uninvited sexual conduct.
- Sexual Assault: Sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim. This can include attempted rape, fondling/unwanted sexual touching, incest, statutory rape, or penetration of the victim’s body (rape).
- Sexual Exploitation: Non-Consensual or abusive sexual advantage for one’s own benefit or the benefit of another.
- Sexual Trafficking: The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.
- Non-consensual sexual contact: Intentional touching of intimate parts or causing someone to touch one’s intimate parts.
- Sexual intimidation: Threatening to sexually assault another, stalking, indecent exposure.
- Rape: Non-Consensual penetration of the victim’s body (vaginal, anal, or oral penetration).
- Stalking: Acting in a way that would cause a person to fear for their safety.
- Dating Violence: Violence committed by a person in a romantic relationship.
- Child Sexual Abuse: Any act that involves sexual molestation or exploitation of a child by a parent or other person who has permanent or temporary care or custody or responsibility for supervision of a child, or by any household or family member. Sexual abuse includes allowing or encouraging a child to engage in obscene photography, films, poses, or similar activity; pornographic photography, films, poses, or similar activity; or prostitution; human trafficking; incest; rape; sexual offense in any degree; sodomy; and unnatural or perverted sexual practices.
- Sexual grooming: Involves an abuser befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a child, and sometimes the family, to prepare a child for sexual abuse.
Terms provided by the Maryland State Department of Education
www.erinlevitas.org 1/11/2019