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What Is Sexual Violence?

Sexual violence is any type of nonconsensual sexual interaction, ranging from unwanted sexual comments to sexual assault. Sexual violence can happen to anyone, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, ability, or sexual orientation.

What Causes Sexual Violence?

Inequality, oppression, and discrimination are the root causes of sexual violence . Harmful social norms, such as the belief that women are inferior to men, contribute to the occurrence of sexual violence.

Looking for fact sheets or other learning materials? Check out our Resources page.

How Can We Prevent Sexual Violence?

Sexual violence is 100% preventable. We can all play a role in preventing sexual violence by establishing norms of respect, empathy, and equity.

Our Road to Prevention and NJCASA C.A.R.E.S. campaigns can help you discover how to promote these norms in your day-to-day life—at work, home, school, and in our communities.

Learn more about NJCASA’s prevention work.

PREVENTION

NJCASA leads community-based and statewide primary prevention efforts in our work to eliminate sexual violence. Explore NJCASA’s approach to prevention.

LAW & POLICY

NJCASA advocates for public policy and legislation that supports survivors and reduces the risk of sexual violence statewide. Stay up-to-date on our efforts.

TRAININGS

NJCASA provides trainings and presentations on topics related to sexual violence. Learn more about our upcoming, on-demand, and customized trainings.

Footnotes:

1. Smith, G. S., Zhang, X., Basile, K.C., Merrick, M. T., Wang, J. Kresnow, M., & Chen, J. (2018). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 data brief – updated release. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/2015data-brief508.pdf