Sexual assault or rape?

You are a victim of sexual assault when someone touches your intimate parts (buttocks, mouth, breasts, genitals) without your consent, using violence, threats, coercion, or surprise. It is a crime punished by law, yet sexual assault is still often minimised in daily life. For example, in school playgrounds, it is sometimes turned into so-called “games,” such as slap-ass or similar.People often use the word “touching”, but this word tends to downplay the violence of the assault and has no legal value.

You are a victim of rape when someone penetrates you, or tries to penetrate you, without your consent, using violence, threats, coercion, or surprise:
- With violence: the attacker hits you in order to force you.

- With threats: the attacker threatens to hurt you if you resist – for example, by hitting you or humiliating you by posting intimate photos of you online.

- With coercion: the attacker forces sexual activity on you by manipulating you or taking advantage of your vulnerability. Example: when an adult penetrates a child by making them believe it is something normal. Or when the attacker insists, argues, and guilt-trips the victim until they give in.

- With surprise: the attacker penetrates you when you are not expecting it – for example, while you are asleep.
Rape can involve penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth, using a penis, fingers, or an object. This means that anyone can be a victim of rape – boys or girls – and anyone can be an offender. A penis is not required for rape to occur.

1 - Do not stay alone
Go to a safe place and contact someone you trust: a friend, a parent, a neighbour, a teacher, a counsellor… There are people who can provide the emotional support you need.

2 - See a doctor as soon as possible
Do not wash yourself. That may sound difficult, because after a rape the first instinct is often to shower. But if you want to maximise the chances of convicting the attacker, it is important not to clean yourself and to see a doctor quickly.
The doctor can record injuries, collect evidence, and provide treatment for possible infections or pregnancy. You may also have internal injuries you are not aware of.

3 - Preserve evidence
If you want, or think you might want, to report the assault to the police, keep the evidence:
- Do not shower.
- Do not brush your teeth.
- Do not move or clean anything the attacker may have touched.
- Put the clothes you were wearing at the time of the assault in a paper bag (not plastic).
- If you think you were drugged, keep your first urine in a clean container.