In South Dakota, sexual assault is referred to as "sexual battery" and is defined as oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by one sexual organ of another, or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any object. Sexual battery doesn't include an act done for a medical purpose.
Sexual assault includes a person or people:
- Telling anti-women jokes or making demeaning remarks about women
- Being jealously angry and assuming you would have sex with any available person
- Insisting you dress in a more sexual way than you want to
- Minimizing the importance of your feelings about sex
- Criticizing you sexually
- Insisting on unwanted or uncomfortable touches
- Withholding sex and affection as a form of punishment
- Calling you names like “whore” or “frigid”
- Forcing you to strip when you do not want to
- Publicly showing sexual interest in other people
- Having affairs with other people after agreeing to a monogamous relationship (agreement can be implied)
- Forcing you to have sex with them or others
- Forcing particular unwanted sex acts
- Forcing sex after beatings
- Forcing sex when you are sick or it is a danger for your health
- Forcing sex for the purpose of hurting you with objects or weapons
- Committing unwanted sadistic sexual acts
- Committing sexual acts that result in permanent injury
- Committing rape
- Rape occurs any time a sex-related act is forced on another person.
- Rape includes any sex act that is imposed on a person who cannot give consent.
- Rape is any use of force or threat of force.
- Rape includes attempted and completed rape.
- Rape is violent sexual abuse against another person.
Statistics
- Approximately 1 in 5 (21.3% or an estimated 25.5 million) women in the U.S. reported completed or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime, including completed forced penetration, attempted forced penetration, or alcohol/drug facilitated completed penetration. About 2.6% of U.S. men (an estimated 2.8 million) experienced completed or attempted rape victimization in their lifetime.
- Approximately 1 in 6 women (16.1% or an estimated 19.2 million women) and approximately 1 in 10 men (9.6% or an estimated 10.6 million men) experienced sexual coercion (e.g., being worn down by someone who repeatedly asked for sex, sexual pressure due to someone using their influence or authority) at some point in their lifetime.
- More than half of AI/AN women (56.1 percent) have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.
- A majority of female victims of completed or attempted rape first experienced such victimization early in life, with 81.3% (nearly 20.8 million victims) reporting that it first occurred prior to age 25.
- "The majority of male victims (70.8% or an estimated 2.0 million) of completed or attempted rape reported that their first experience occurred prior to age 25.” (Smith et al., 2018, p. 2)
Photos used under Creative Commons from Tambako the Jaguar Tatters ✾