The text is summarized from the website of the School of Social Work at the University of Washington, Joshua Center on Child Sexual Abuse.

Source: Joshua Center on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention (2024). What do I need to know about sexual abuse? https://uwjoshuacenter.org/what-do-i-need-know-about-sexual-abuse

What is sexual abuse/sexual violence?

Sexual abuse/sexual violence is a sexual act between two people where one person forces, deceives, or manipulates the other into it. This act can be physical and involve touch, but it is not necessarily so.

Sexual abuse/sexual violence that involves physical contact includes:

• Rubbing or caressing parts of the body, especially intimate body parts
• Any sexual act where an object or part of the body is inserted into the body cavity of another person
• Forced kissing

Sexual abuse/sexual violence that does not involve physical contact can include actions such as: Sexually suggestive comments about another person or their body, Displaying pornography, Photographing or sharing nude or partially nude images of another person, persistent flirting without consent, Pressuring someone to go on a date or have sex with another person, Unannounced entry into a space where a person is bathing or changing clothes.

Sexual abuse/sexual violence can also involve sexual acts between young people and individuals who:

• Are in a position of authority over the adolescent
• Are significantly older or younger than the adolescent
• Are related to the adolescent

Examples include teachers, coaches, religious leaders, youth program staff (scout leaders, trip counselors, chaperones, etc.), family members (biological, adoptive, or foster parents), other adolescents, and other adults.

Regardless of the specific situation, sexual acts between young people and adults are always considered sexual abuse/sexual violence. Similarly, sexual acts between young people that involve coercion, extortion, or manipulation are also considered violence.

Examples of sexual abuse/sexual violence and how it develops can vary widely. In some situations, it is a sudden and violent attack, defined as rape. However, many cases of sexual abuse/sexual violence result from slow, deliberate efforts by the perpetrator—grooming. The degree of manipulation, extortion, or force used can also vary.

Consent

The age of consent is a legal term that describes the age at which someone can give conscious consent for sexual activity with another person. The specific age of consent varies from country to country but is generally between 16 and 18 years old.

Exceptionally, a consensual sexual relationship may occur between young people who are younger than this age if:

• it involves sexual contact between relatively similarly aged young people – peers (sexual contact between young people with an age difference of three or more years is often considered sexual abuse); and
• there is no presence of force, coercion, manipulation, or use of a power imbalance (e.g., an authority role) or use of resources (such as money or gifts); and
• both individuals provide informed, specific, and verbal consent to the sexual act.

Slovenian legislation stipulates that sexual relations between adults and minors, which include sexuality in any form, are not allowed until the minor reaches 15 years of age, as such cases would constitute the criminal offense of sexual abuse of a child under 15 years of age.

Legal Basis

The text is summarized from the website Spletno oko.

Source: Spletno oko (2024). Online grooming. Legal basis. https://www.spletno-oko.si/spletni-grooming/pravna-podlaga

Slovenian law addresses online sexual solicitation of children in Article 173a of the Criminal Code (KZ‑1) (Obtaining persons under fifteen for sexual purposes) and prescribes imprisonment for anyone who, via digital technologies, solicits a person under fifteen to meet with the intent to engage in sexual intercourse or any other sexual act, or to produce material with sexual content. For the act to be treated as a criminal offense under Article 173a, concrete actions to arrange the meeting must follow the solicitation.

Online sexual solicitation is therefore punishable if two conditions are met:

The victim is under fifteen years old. A person older than fifteen may legally consent to sexual activity, so solicitation of persons older than fifteen is not punishable in itself.

The solicitation is followed by concrete actions that could enable the meeting. Such actions include, for example, agreeing on a location or time for the meeting, establishing recognition signs for the meeting, etc.

The criminal offense of online sexual solicitation of children can, in some cases, escalate into other criminal offenses. If, during the recruitment or obtaining of a person under fifteen, the perpetrator causes the creation of compromising recordings, this constitutes a separate criminal offense under Article 176 of KZ‑1, which also includes the perpetrator’s prior conduct. If, for example, direct sexual contact occurs during the meeting between the perpetrator and a person under fifteen, the act is defined as a criminal offense or sexual assault on a person under fifteen, under Article 173 of KZ‑1, which also includes the perpetrator’s prior conduct. If information and communication technology were not used between the perpetrator and the victim, but the perpetrator used language that violated the sexual integrity of a person under fifteen, this act could also be treated as a criminal offense under the fourth paragraph of Article 173 of KZ‑1.

Criminal Code of the Republic of Slovenia KZ‑1

Article 173 – Sexual assault on a person under 15 years of age

(1) Whoever engages in sexual intercourse or commits any other sexual act with a person of the same or opposite sex who is not yet 15 years old shall be punished by imprisonment of three to eight years.

(2) Whoever commits the act from the previous paragraph with a vulnerable person who is under 15 years old, or in a way that uses force or threatens with a direct attack on life or body, or in such a manner causes the act to be committed with another person, shall be punished by imprisonment of five to fifteen years.

(3) A teacher, educator, guardian, adopter, parent, clergyman, doctor, or other person who, by abusing their position, engages in sexual intercourse or commits any other sexual act with a person under 15 years of age entrusted to them for education, upbringing, treatment, care, or supervision, shall be punished by imprisonment of three to ten years.

(4) Whoever, under the circumstances of paragraphs 1, 2, or 3, otherwise violates the sexual integrity of a person under 15 years of age, shall be punished by imprisonment of up to five years.

(5) The act from paragraph 1 of this article is not unlawful if it was committed with a person of comparable age and corresponds to the degree of their mental and physical maturity.

Article 173a – Obtaining persons under fifteen for sexual purposes

(1) Whoever, via information or communication technologies, solicits a person under fifteen to meet with the intent to commit a criminal offense from paragraph 1 of Article 173 of this Code against them, or for the purpose of creating images, audiovisual, or other objects of pornographic or other sexual content, and concrete actions follow the solicitation to arrange the meeting, shall be punished by imprisonment of up to one year.

(2) The act described in the previous paragraph is not unlawful if it was committed under the circumstances of paragraph 1 of Article 173 and under the conditions of paragraph 5 of Article 173 of this Code.

Informed consent means that the person giving consent knows what they are consenting to, voluntarily agrees to the sexual activity, and has the ability to say “no” at any time. Informed consent for sexual activity between a minor and an adult is never possible.

Informed consent for sexual activity between a minor and an adult is never possible.

Acknowledging that consent is necessary, practicing consent in sexual activities, and generally respecting the boundaries of others and their control over their own body establishes a culture of consent in relationships.

A culture of consent can help protect people from abuse/violence and also reduce blaming or shaming of victims of sexual abuse/sexual violence (which is typical in a rape culture). To be clear, someone who has experienced sexual abuse/violence is never responsible for it—the person who caused the abuse/violence is responsible.

Someone who has experienced sexual abuse/violence is never responsible for it—the person who caused the abuse/violence is responsible.

Consent can, however, be a difficult concept. Many perpetrators of sexual abuse/sexual violence are skilled at manipulating a young person into thinking they have consented to sexual contact. They often do this by gradually increasing touch and sexual behavior over time. This tactic is known as grooming (sexual predation).

Loveisrespect: What Consent Looks Like

Consent means communication at every step. Do not assume that your partner feels comfortable with every activity. To understand what is okay, you need a clear and enthusiastic “yes” – which means that if someone seems unsure, stays silent, does not respond, or says “maybe,” it does not mean they said “yes.”

If things are moving very quickly, here are some ways to check the situation before continuing:

“Are you comfortable?”

“Is this okay?”

“Do you want to go slower?”

“Do you want to go further?”

Consent also means letting go of preconceptions about gender roles. There are no rules about who can initiate an intimate act or who might want to go fast or slow. The more comfortable you feel expressing your boundaries and desires, the more enjoyable your shared interaction will be.

What is Not Consent

Behavior such as dressing a certain way, flirting, or accepting a ride, gift, or drink is not a form of consent. Consent is also not when someone says “yes” (or does not say “no”) while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or if they do something because they feel pressured or are too afraid not to do it.

Grooming (Sexual Grooming)

Grooming (sexual grooming) is an abusive process used by perpetrators to slowly build a relationship with a young person, to isolate them from others who could potentially protect them from abuse, and to gradually sexualize the relationship. A young person who has been groomed may not understand what is happening until sexual abuse/sexual violence occurs.

During grooming, the perpetrator creates a relationship that initially seems genuine to the young person. The perpetrator makes you feel cared for and finds ways to make you feel valued by saying nice things, giving gifts, allowing experiences that your parents cannot or will not give you. In every way, the perpetrator tries first to establish a friendly relationship with you, in order to gradually gain access to carry out sexual activities.

Touch is introduced gradually and often starts with a casual hug before progressing to increasingly sexualized acts. A young person who does not say “no” to these initial grooming acts often ends up feeling as though they consented to sexual abuse/violence, which is not true. This is the essence of grooming.

The perpetrator uses the grooming process to make the young person believe the relationship is mutual and not abuse—but it is abuse. The perpetrator also tries to shift the blame for the abuse onto the young person, even though the young person is never responsible.

Perpetrators use grooming to make the young person believe the relationship is mutual.

Perpetrators of Sexual Abuse/Sexual Violence                                                

It is difficult to determine who can be a perpetrator of sexual abuse/sexual violence. Literally any person in a young person’s life could be the one to sexually abuse them. Contrary to common beliefs, perpetrators are mostly not strangers, but people the victim knows.

Most people who sexually abuse young people are not strangers, but people the victim knows.

The person most likely to abuse a young person is usually someone they know and may even trust, such as someone in a position of authority, a family member, or a peer.

Reports show that people who sexually abuse young people are most often acquaintances of the child or their family, followed by family members, and then peers. Only 4 to 10 percent of child sexual abuse cases are committed by strangers.

The good news is that most people will never commit sexual abuse/sexual violence against young people. The bad news is that the behavior used to groom young people for sexual abuse is the same kind of behavior seen in mentors and people who work with youth, such as giving attention to the young person, forming a supportive relationship, or meeting certain needs. Because of these similarities in behavior, grooming is such an effective tactic of sexual abuse/sexual violence and causes great confusion for the young victim.

The Power to Say “No”

You can say “no” at any time. Regardless of how long an abusive relationship has lasted and even if you initially did not reject sexual behavior, you can still say “no.”

It is very difficult to leave an abusive relationship once it has begun. The perpetrator may have threatened to harm you or your loved ones if you ever tell anyone about what they are doing to you. You may feel guilty for not stopping it earlier. You may even care about the perpetrator in some way. When you are ready, you will be able to say “no” and seek help to end the sexual abuse.

When you are ready, you will be able to say “no” and seek help to end the sexual abuse.

Click: WHERE CAN I SEEK HELP FOR SEXUAL ABUSE/SEXUAL VIOLENCE?

FUN AND EDUCATIONAL ABOUT CONSENT

Here you can watch a fun and educational video on the topic of consent, titled Tea Consent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQbei5JGiT8