Sexual harassment takes many forms and may include unwanted physical contact, verbal abuse, and the sending of sexual images or texts from any source – be they supervisors, teachers, coworkers, or peers.
Sexual assault refers to any act that occurs without consent, including from those unable to give it, such as children.
Difference between sexual assault and harassment:
Harassment is Verbal
Sexual harassment occurs when one individual causes another person to feel humiliated, afraid or threatened through inappropriate sexual comments made verbally or nonverbally. Sexual harassment can come from anyone – be it their supervisor or coworker at work or even someone they don’t know directly such as strangers – regardless of gender.
Sexual harassment takes many forms. Examples include teasing, making offhand comments that make the victim feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, taunting, or asking inappropriate questions that cause distress to the target.
Sexual harassment may also involve making people believe their employment or promotion depends on their sexual behavior, spreading sexually explicit rumors, and discussing or showing material at work that violates sexual standards – among many other scenarios.
Harassment at work can have lasting emotional, psychological, physical, and professional ramifications that are extremely serious. It can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression – and reduce job satisfaction overall – along with physical symptoms such as headaches and sleep disturbances.
Therefore it’s crucial that employees have support systems both inside and outside their company for help when encountering harassment in the workplace.
Assault is Physical
Sexual assault refers to any physical, sexual act performed without consent or when the victim is incapable of providing it, such as groping, manual penetration (including frottage), oral sex, and anal sex with no sexual intercourse taking place between participants. Sexual assault also includes injecting drugs into someone’s drink or food to render them unconscious – often known as date rape drugs.
Assault can occur at any time or place and at any hour of day or night. Assaulters can come from anywhere – strangers or those familiar to their victim – with eight out of ten sexual assaults being perpetrated by those they know personally.
Sexual harassment occurs no matter who the perpetrator is – be they male, female, heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise. Victims and survivors can suffer long-term ramifications, including stress and depression, difficulty creating healthy relationships, and difficulty finding work – regardless of the gender identity and sexual orientation of the perpetrator.
Assault is Coercive
Sexual coercion does not only involve physical force; it can also involve nonphysical manipulation and threats. A perpetrator could use badgering and guilting techniques to force someone into sexual activity by badger and guilting.
Some perpetrators even use date rape drugs which they put into nonalcoholic drinks or food without informing the victim; these cause memory loss making it hard to recall what occurred during an assault or its circumstances.
Sexual harassment refers to any unwanted sexual contact or behavior that recurs, such as lewd remarks, references, or questions about sexuality and touching. When this happens in a work environment it can violate privacy rights and cause detriment; claims for this conduct can be filed in civil courts as vicarious liability by employers.
Sexual harassment, assault, and coercion are serious crimes that can have lasting impacts on a person’s life. To best protect yourself from these threats it’s crucial that you know their differences as well as how to identify them in order to stay protected.
Assault is Unconsented
Sexual assault refers to any physical or sexual act done without the victim’s permission and without their knowledge or consent.
As the #MeToo movement has demonstrated, even something seemingly harmless like a “friendly kiss” may constitute sexual assault; exhibitionism (showing someone your genitalia without their knowledge or consent), groping, and forced intercourse are all acts that could constitute assault as are sexual penetration (even just finger or toe penetrations) and rape – which have all been criminalized since #MeToo started in 2017.
Conclusion
If you believe you or someone close to you has been sexually assaulted, there are steps you can take to report it, and what will follow at RAINN. Learn more here.
Sexual misconduct evidence can come in various forms, from verbal or written communication, electronic proof like texts and emails, physical objects, or hospital records from your visit – whatever works to show what happened and obtain justice. The key is presenting these facts before a judge and jury.
