Sexual abuse is any sexual behavior meant to control, manipulate, humiliate or demean another person. Sexual abuse can be hard for a woman to recognize because many religions teach women to be submissive in every way to their husbands. Many times women are led to believe that you do whatever your husband wants sexually. Sexual abuse is very common in abusive relationships. As I stated before, sexual acts or behaviors are used to show power over the victim and also to shame and humiliate the victim. Surprisingly, many women sexually abuse their partners. Let's look at the types of sexual abuse:

- unwanted touching
- unwanted sexual name calling
- unfaithfulness
- false accusations
- withholding sex as punishment
- forced sex with a partner
- hurtful sex
- insisting on dressing a certain way when you don't feel comfortable doing it
- forced sex with someone other then partner
- forcing partner to watch others or watch the abuser with others
- rape with an object
- forced sex with animals
- unwanted sexual acts

I would like to add here that there are people who are turned on by some of the things I have listed above. While that is fine, what you do and want is your business, but it is categorized as abuse when you don't want it.

Help for sexual abuse is as abundant as that for physical abuse. There is help out there.


Office for the Victims of Crime – Incest and Sexual Abuse Page



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