Sexual violence is not about sex. It is about violence and domination.

Sexual violence is an act that someone forces on a person who has not consented to a sexual activity or is unable to consent.

What is consent to a sexual activity? Consent is saying yes, freely, willingly, and without force, coercion, threat or pressure.

Let's break it down—if you force, threaten or coerce her, that's sexual violence, sexual assault, rape, a crime.

If she says no, shakes her head no, pushes you away or wants to leave, that's sexual violence, sexual assault, rape, a crime.

If she is drunk or high to the point of being incoherent, if she is unconscious or passed out, that's sexual violence, sexual assault, rape, a crime.

Sexual violence is not just rape. It is a continuum—a range of different acts that includes sexually harassing looks, gestures, and comments, sexually abusive physical contact, and rape.

The vast majority of sexual assault occurs between people who know each other.

According to the 2005 National Crime Victimization Survey, 73% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger. 38% of perpetrators were a friend or acquaintance of the victim, 28% were an intimate partner or spouse, and 7% were another relative. (These statistics do not include sexual assaults on children younger than 12, where it is even more common for perpetrators to someone the child knows.)

Men are also sexually assaulted. Most perpetrators of sexual violence–against women and men--are men. Of course, the majority of men do not rape. But men can play a role in the prevention of sexual violence.

For more information on sexual violence, visit the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault at www.taasa.org.

For more information on what men can do, visit the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network or Men Against Sexual Violence.