Sexual violence is any form of sexual activity that happens without your consent, including:
- any unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature, for example unwanted kissing or touching (including through clothes)
- pressuring someone into performing a sexual act
- sexual harassment: any unwanted sexual behaviour that makes, or is intended to make, someone feel upset, scared, offended or humiliated
- sexual assault or rape
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is a criminal offence and contrary to the School's Student Code of Conduct and Staff Code of Conduct and disciplinary procedure. A person commits sexual assault if they intentionally touch another person, the touching is sexual and the person does not consent.
It involves all unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature and ranges from pinching, embracing, groping and kissing, to rape and sexual assault which involves penetration without consent.
What is consent?
Consent is agreeing by choice, and having the freedom and capacity to make that choice.
A person is free to make a choice if they can say no without anything bad happening to them, or without the fear that something bad would happen to them.
A person has capacity if they are physically and or mentally able to make a choice and understand the consequences of that choice.
Find out more
Watch this video to learn more about consent.
Rape Crisis offers more information and advice about consent, what it looks like and some of the myths surrounding consent.
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is unwanted and unwelcome words, conduct or behaviour of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, embarrassing, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the recipient. It is a misuse of personal or institutional power and often based on a person’s gender although it is rarely about sexual desire.
Sexual harassment can include but is not limited to: catcalling, following, making unnecessary and unwanted physical contact, sexual jokes and comments, giving unwelcome personal gifts, wolf-whistling, leering, derogatory comments, unwelcome comments about a person’s body or clothing, unwelcome questions about a person’s sex life and/or sexuality, engaging in unwelcome sexual propositions, invitations and flirtation, or making somebody feel uncomfortable through displaying or sharing sexual material. Sexual harassment does not necessarily occur face to face and can be in the form of emails, visual images (such as sexually explicit pictures on walls in a shared environment), social media, telephone, text messages and image based sexual abuse, such as revenge porn and upskirting.
If you think you have been the target of sexual misconduct, assault or harassment, it may be hard to know what to do or how to feel. What happened was not your fault. What you do next is your choice.