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What is sexual assault?

"Sexual assault occurs when a person is forced, coerced or tricked into sexual acts against their will or without their consent, or if a child or young person under 18 is exposed to sexual activities.

Sexual assault is a crime. Sexual assault is not the victim's fault.

Sexual assault can happen to anyone in our community. This includes people who are young or old, male or female, from any cultural background, wealthy or not so wealthy, married or not. Anyone can be a victim of sexual assault.

Most victims of sexual assault know the person who assaulted them, such as a family member or friend or someone from work, school, church or another social group. A person you don't know or have just met can commit sexual assault.

Women and men as victims of sexual assault are treated equally under the law." Victim's Services Justice NSW 2017.

What is sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment is any unwanted, unwelcome or uninvited behaviour of a sexual nature which a person should expect will make the recipient feel humiliated, intimidated or offended. Sexual harassment can take many different forms and may include physical contact, verbal comments, jokes, propositions, the display of offensive material or other behaviour which creates a sexually hostile working or studying environment. Sexual harassment is not behaviour which is based on mutual attraction, friendship and respect. Sexual assault or sexual harassment can happen to anyone in our community.

Female, male and LGBTIQ+ community members can be victims of sexual assault or harassment and are treated equally under the law.

• staring or leering in a sexual manner
• unwelcome wolf whistling
• comments about a person's physical appearance or sexual characteristics
• sexual or physical contact, such as slapping, kissing touching, hugging or massaging
• displaying or circulating sexual material, for example on a noticeboard or by email
• repeated sexual invitations when the person has refused similar invitations before
• initiation ceremonies involving unwelcome sexually related behaviour
• intrusive questions about sexual activity Antidiscrimination Board of NSW

Further information can be found in the University's .

Consent occurs when a person freely and voluntarily agrees to sexual intercourse. Sexual assault occurs when someone is unable to and/or does not give consent. The law says:

• You can’t assume someone is consenting because they don’t say no. Silence is not consent;
• Consent is an ongoing process. A person can change their mind and withdraw their consent at any time;
• You cannot assume consent has been given if someone is unable to understand what they are consenting to due to their age or intellectual capacity;
• A person can’t consent if they’re significantly intoxicated or affected by drugs or alcohol that they can’t choose or refuse to participate;
• Consent can only be given freely and voluntarily. If you force, threaten, intimidate, or coerce your partner into sex, it’s not consensual;
• Consent must be present for every sexual act. If someone consents to one sexual act, it doesn’t mean they’ve consented to others;
• Consent cannot be given if someone is unlawfully detained or held against their will;
• They submit due to the person being in a position of trust;
• A person can’t consent if they’re asleep or unconscious.
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Learning about sexual assault and relationship violence is never easy, and it can be even harder when your native culture and language is very different from that of Australia.

The Your Body, Your Choice factsheets below contain important information for students who have experienced sexual assault.

The resource was developed by Redfern Legal Centre, City of Sydney and Study NSW in 2018, and last revised in 2022.