Key Points: How Accurate Language About Sexual Assault Supports Victims in the Criminal Justice System
In discussions of sexual assault, victim advocates must be alert to and challenge use of language that:
- Connotes welcome, consensual acts
For example:
DO NOT SAY: “He had sexual intercourse with her.”
Avoid use of “relationship” to describe violence perpetrated on victims. There is no “sexual relationship” between an adult and a 12 year-old child; it is rape.
Avoid use of language that connotes intimacy such as “fondle” and “caress”
DO SAY: “He forced his penis into her vagina.”
- Minimizes the perpetrator’s actions, deflects responsibility away from the perpetrator, or creates the “invisible perpetrator”
For example:
DO NOT SAY: “Mary was raped.”
DO SAY:“Don raped Mary.”
DO NOT SAY that a rape occurred or happened.
DO SAY that the sexual assault was deliberately committed.
DO NOT SAY that a victim experienced sexual violence.
DO SAY that a victim has been subjected to sexual violence.
- Blames the victim
For example, describing her appearance (clothing) or behavior (such as intoxication) surrounding the sexual assault.
Victim advocates should educate those who misuse the language of consensual sex to describe sexual assault, especially colleagues, criminal justice professionals, and local media.