What is Rape?

RAPE is forced sexual intercourse, including both psychological coercion and physical force. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, anal or oral penetration by the offender(s). This category includes incidents where the penetration is from a foreign object such as a bottle. This definition includes attempted rapes, male and female victims, and heterosexual and homosexual rape.

What is Sexual Assault?

SEXUAL ASSAULT includes a wide range of victimizations, distinct from rape or attempted rape. These crimes include completed or attempted attacks generally involving unwanted sexual contact between the victim and offender. Sexual assaults may or may not involve force and include such things as grabbing or fondling. Sexual assault also includes verbal threats.

What To Do If You Are Raped

Do - Seek out a friend, or get somewhere safe.
This is not the time to be alone. At the very least, you need emotional support. If there is no one to go to, then call someone you can talk to, no matter how late it is. Don't stay in the area of the rape.

Do - Get medical attention.

Do Not - shower or clean yourself first. As soon as possible, go to a hospital or school health center to be examined and treated for possible venereal disease. You may have internal injuries which you are not aware of. If you decide to press charges, physical specimens collected soon after the rape will be valuable evidence.

Do - Report the attack whether or not you plan to file charges.
(Reporting a rape does not commit you to filing charges. You can make that decision later.) Have someone go with you. Rarely do date rapists attack one woman only; they get away with it and so they continue to do it. If you turn him in, you may break that pattern and save someone else from being attacked. If you don't press charges, please remember that what he does is not your responsibility. You have done what you needed to to survive.

Do - Get help and support, such as counseling.
At the very least, call a rape or crisis hotline. Your school counseling center, student health center, or local sexual assault center also may be of help. You have been through a trauma and need help to deal with the situation and with your feelings.

Most of All:
Do not - blame yourself.
Many people assume that the man is expected to ask for sex and the woman is responsible for giving permission for sex. Thus the woman may feel it is her fault for not having said "no" more clearly or for having trusted the man in the first place. Some men and women may also blame the victim and offer little or no sympathy. Men may believe you must have somehow "led on" the rapist; some women may suggest you either used poor judgment or have a bad reputation, so it is your own fault. In both cases, they are trying to distance themselves from what happened. If you find that you are being blamed for what happened, it is helpful to go to a counseling center, a rape crisis center, or call a hotline. You need to be reassured that you are not to blame; the rapist is. Even if your body responded sexually to the rapist, it does not mean you "enjoyed" the experience or that it is your fault. Even if you believe you were naive, not cautious, or even foolish, it is not your fault. Your behavior did not cause the rape; the rapist caused the rape.

This informations is taken from the RAINN website.

Every state has its own definitions of rape and sexual assault, so the precise definition depends on where you live.
These definitions are the same ones used by the US Department of Justice's annual National Crime Victimization Survey, the most comprehensive study of the incidence of rape. Unless otherwise noted, all statistics on RAINN's website are based on the above definitions.