Rape
Rape is an unlawful sexual act and a harmful form of sexual violence that disproportionately affects women and girls. Rape occurs in the absence of consent, the voluntary agreement between participants to engage in sexual activity. It involves vaginal, anal, and/or oral sex using a body part or an object without consent. Rape is a form of sexual assault, but not all sexual assaults are rape.
The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) provides the following statistical definition of rape:
‘Sexual penetration, whether vaginal, anal or oral, through the use of objects or body parts, without consent, using force, coercion or by taking advantage of the vulnerability of the victim.’
Resources:
- Understanding rape in the European Union – European Institute for Gender Equality
- Rape as a tactic of War – UNWomen
- NO! The Rape Documentary
(NO! The Rape Documentary is the 2006-released, Ford Foundation-funded, ground-breaking feature-length film that focuses on intra-racial rape of Black girls and women, healing, and accountability through the first-person testimonies, scholarship, spirituality, activism, and cultural work of Black people in the United States. Produced, written, and directed for 12 years (1994-2006) by childhood sexual abuse and adult rape survivor Aishah Shahidah Simmons, NO! also explores how rape is used as a weapon of homophobia. The film encourages viewers to commit themselves to prevent, disrupt and end rape and other forms of sexual violence. NO! amplifies the imperative need for survivor-centered, non-carceral accountability.)
