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Consent Comes First at TMU

Understanding Sexual Violence and Gender-Based Violence

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Understanding Sexual Violence and Gender-Based Violence

What is sexual violence?

Sexual violence is an umbrella term.

It refers to any sexual act or act targeting a person’s sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression, whether the act is physical or psychological in nature that is committed, threatened, or attempted against a person without the person’s consent. This includes, but is not limited to sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, indecent exposure, voyeurism, sexual exploitation, degrading sexual imagery, distribution of sexual images or video of a community member without their consent, and cyber harassment or cyber stalking of a sexual nature.

What is sexual assault?

Sexual assault is any physical sexual contact without mutual consent. It can include unwanted kissing, fondling, intercourse, or other forms of penetration (including oral or anal sex), or any other unwanted act of a sexual nature.

What is sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment is a course of unwanted comments or conduct of a sexually oriented nature where the person responsible for the comments or conduct knows or ought reasonably to know that these are unwelcome. Sexual harassment may also consist of unwelcome comments or conduct based on gender or that promote gender-based violence, which are not of a sexual nature but are demeaning, such as derogatory gender-based jokes or remarks, personal questions about one’s sex life, persistent requests for a date, or unwelcome remarks about someone’s body.

Gender-based Violence Pyramid. This is a starting point, not an exhaustive list, to understand how gender-based violence manifests. Top Level: Murder and/or Genocide. Second Level: Rape, Sexual Assault, Physical, Emotional, Financial Abuse, Technology Facilitated Violence, Forced Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation, Virginity Test, Spiritual Abuse, Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, Medical Abuse, Stalking. Third Level: Harassment, Threats, Verbal Abuse, Objectification, Isolation Fourth Level: Traditional Gender Roles, Glass Ceiling, Stereotypes, Oppressive Policies, Stereotypes, Institutional Discrimination, State Violence. Bottom Level: Capitalism, White Supremacy, Colonization,Patriarchy, Racism, Heterosexism, Ableism, Sizeism, Cissexism, Transmisogyny, Ageism, Classism, Anti-Black Racism, Patriarchy, Xenophobia

What is gender-based violence?

Gender-based violence (GBV) is the use and abuse of control over another person and is perpetrated against someone based on their gender expression, gender identity, or perceived gender. GBV, including violence against women and girls, can take many forms including but not limited to: stalking, early or forced marriage, emotional and psychological abuse, financial abuse, genital mutilation and/or cutting, intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, neglect, physical abuse, sexual assault, reproductive coercion, threats of violence (including self-harm) in order to coerce sex, rape, sexualized violence, technology-facilitated violence, and stealthing (non consensual condom removal).