What is rape or sexual assault?
At December 2006, the legal definition of rape is penetration of a vagina by a penis, by however small an amount. This has to have been ‘by force’ and ‘against her will’ – meaning that at the time the woman had not consented. The criminal intent of the offence includes ‘the intention to have intercourse with the woman without her consent or recklessness as to the matter of the consent’.1 Because of this definition, oral rape, anal rape or penetration with other objects will be defined as a sexual assault.
In Scotland, rape can only be committed by men upon women – it is a crime of violence specifically against women.
The definition that states that a rape must by ‘by force’ implies that a violent struggle must have taken place and for many women this is not the case. The threat of violence or death is often used by rapists to force women to comply. In fact, the law only requires that threats of physical violence were made.
Our definition of rape and sexual assault (sexual violence) is wider than this legal definition. We define sexual violence as any unwanted sexual behaviour that causes humiliation, pain, fear or intimidation and this can include unwanted kissing and touching, forcing someone to watch sexual acts, pornography, sexual harassment or forcing a woman into prostitution.
