What is Sexual Harm?

In Aotearoa, NewZealand, rape is defined as someone penetrating another person’s vagina, anus or mouth with a penis without that person’s consent. It’s a serious offense and is specific to male and female genders.

It is also defined as rape, when a person removes a condom during sex without the other person’s permission (known as “stealthing”)

Sexual assault (often called unlawful sexual connection under the law) refers to any sexual activity which happens without consent, such as:

·     Unwanted touching

·     Unwanted kissing

·     Pressuring or manipulating someone into performing a sexual act

·     Attempted rape

·     Touching someone’s clothes in a sexual manner, for example, lifting someone’s skirt.

Sexual assault also includes causing a person to engage in sexual activity without their consent, for example:

·     Making someone masturbate or touch themselves sexually

·     Making someone touch someone else or be touched by someone else without their consent

·     Making someone engage in sexual activity without their consent.

It is important to remember that sexual assault is a broad term. Just because something isn’t included here does not mean it isn’t sexual assault.

Tika lawyers can help if you’re not sure how to define what happened to you.

Sexual harassment includes a wide range of behaviors. Examples of this might be:

·     Physical contact that is unwanted for example, brushing up against someone

·     Staring or using suggestive looks, for example, looking someone up and down

·     Sexual ‘jokes’

·     Unwanted sexual advances

·     Sending messages with unwanted sexual context

·     Unwanted sexual requests

·     Sexual comments or noises, for example, wolf-whistling or catcalling

·     Sexual or suggestive comments

·     Sexual gestures (hand or body movements)

·     Intrusive questions about a person’s private or sex life

·     Commenting on someone’s body or appearance

·     Spreading sexual rumours about someone

·     Stalking

·     Indecent exposure, known as ‘flashing’, whether in person or online

·     Taking a photo or a video under another person’s clothing, known as ‘upskirting’

These can happen in person, over the phone or by messaging, or online, and it includes any unwanted sexual behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated, offended, scared or humiliated.

Sexual harm often happens in online spaces, and in New Zealand these offenses are covered under parts of the Crimes Act, the Harmful Digital Communications Act and the Human Rights Act. Some examples of these are:

·     Sharing or posting intimate pictures or videos without your consent (posting, forwarding, or uploading to porn sites / group chats).

·     Sextortion: blackmail using intimate images/videos (demanding money, more images, or sex acts)

·     Sending nudes which you haven’t consented to receiving.

·     Sexualised harassment via DMs/comments (persistent sexual messages, degrading sexual abuse, targeted humiliation).

·     Covert sexual recording (filming/photographing someone without their knowledge or consent and sharing it online.)

Sexual abuse is when an adult (or older child) coerces a child into any kind of sexual activity or situation. It’s an abuse of trust and is never OK. It includes sexual exploitation, when a child is encouraged or forced to take part in sexual activity in exchange for something, like attention, money, or presents.

Sex trafficking is a form of modern slavery, when a person or people are moved one place to another and exploited against their will. That could be forcing a survivor to perform non-consensual or sexual acts, such as prostitution, escorting, or pornography.