What is a sexual offence?

5 Feb

TRIGGER WARNING: Please note that this chapter (and pages it links to) contains information about sexual assault and violence that may be triggering to victim/survivors.

Sexual offences can happen to anyone. Often they are not reported to police because victim/survivors feel scared, ashamed and confused. Sexual assault is never the victim’s ‘fault’.

Sexual offences include crimes listed in the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (‘Crimes Act (Vic)’).

Sexual offences include rape, sexual assault, threat to commit a sexual assault, incest, and sexual offences committed against children and people with a cognitive impairment or mental illness.

When interpreting sexual offences in the Crimes Act, it is the intention of parliament that courts have regard to the facts that:

there is a high incidence of sexual violence within society;
sexual offences are significantly under-reported;
a significant number of sexual offences are committed against women, children and other vulnerable persons including persons with a cognitive impairment or mental illness;
sexual offenders are commonly known to their victims; and
often, there are no physical signs that an offence has occurred (see Crimes Act s 37B).