McGill.CA / Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education / Education / About sexual violence

Sexual assault

47% of sexual assaults are committed against women aged 15 to 24 80% of all sexual assaults are perpetrated by someone known to the survivor 90% of reported cases of sexual assault on university campuses are facilitated by alcohol

Sexual assault is any act of a sexual nature performed without the consent of the other person(s). This includes a range of behaviours, from unwanted kissing and touching to forced sexual intercourse (rape) and/or oral sex.

Alcohol (and other drugs) can be used by perpetrators of sexual assault in two ways:

  1. By providing alcohol to someone with the intention of making them vulnerable
  2. By targeting someone who is already vulnerable due to intoxication

Sexual assault is not about love or lust; it is about one person exerting power and control over another. Sexual assault can affect anyone. It can happen within marriage, common-law, dating or acquaintance relationships, or be perpetrated by an unknown person. Most survivors know the person who sexually assaults them. Those who have experienced acquaintance sexual assault often find it difficult to define their experience as sexual assault, or disclose what happened to them.

Sexual assault is a criminal offence in Canada under sections 271 to 273 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

McGill is located on unceded lands which have traditionally served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst diverse indigenous peoples. The Kanien’kehá:ka, a founding nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Anishinabeg are recognized as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which Tiohtià:ke/Montréal is located. Learn more about the land you’re on by following this link, and commit to taking action to support the ongoing resistance and thriving of local Indigenous communities.

  

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