Overview of What Sexual Assault Is

Overview of What Sexual Assault is

Sexual assaults are acts of violence and or aggressions which happen when a person is unwilling, exposed, or intimidated into sexual conduct without the other persons consent. This crime can affect women, men, and children. It is a crime out of anger, needing to control and needing to feel powerful (Sexual Assault Response and Awareness Program/Community and Human Services/City of Alexandria, n.d).

Victims of sexual assault or rape end up suffering from emotional problems long after the assault or rape has taken place. The crime has medical, legal, and emotional aftereffects which can take up to many weeks, or even years to recover and some may never recover from the incident at all (Sexual Assault Response and Awareness Program/Community and Human Services/City of Alexandria, n.d).

In a civil action, the plaintiff or victim controls the litigation by deciding whether to file a case, proceed, settle or pursue further action within the limits of the law. This is in utter contrast with criminal law. The state is the party and the prosecution represents the state, and the victim is just a witness for the state’s case (Bublick, nb.d).

The procedure for civil action allows the plaintiff to meet a lower burden of proof, instead of proof beyond a reasonable doubt which is standard in criminal law (Manley, 1990).

Clients Concern

Client says she was raped and sexually assaulted, but the crime was not reported to police. In situations as such, the victim of rape can file a civil suit to procure justice and vindication that criminal courts may not be able to provide. With Consent being the dominant defense, it is sometimes difficult for the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt that is needed for a criminal conviction. Therefore the lesser preponderance of the evidence needed allows the victim to recover in civil