SEXUAL ABUSE

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sexual abuse mean? 

• SEXUAL ABUSE (noun)
  The noun SEXUAL ABUSE has 1 sense:

1. a statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat

  Familiarity information: SEXUAL ABUSE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SEXUAL ABUSE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

sex crime; sex offense; sexual abuse; sexual assault

Context example:

most states have replaced the common law definition of rape with statutes defining sexual assault

Hypernyms ("sexual abuse" is a kind of...):

regulatory offence; regulatory offense; statutory offence; statutory offense (crimes created by statutes and not by common law)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sexual abuse"):

molestation (the act of subjecting someone to unwanted or improper sexual advances or activity (especially women or children))

assault; rape; ravishment; violation (the crime of forcing a person to submit to sexual intercourse against his or her will)

 Context examples 

It is caused by conditions such as repeated diaper rash, urine and stool infections, and sexual abuse.

(Labial Fusion, NCI Thesaurus)

Many homeless women are victims of domestic or sexual abuse.

(Homeless Health Concerns, NIH)

Sexual abuse is one form of child abuse.

(Child Sexual Abuse, NIH)

This increases if they have experienced negative situations such as sexual abuse, famine, wars and poverty early on.

(Half of mental health disorders arise in adolescence, SciDev.Net)

The psychological, emotional, and sexual abuse of a child, typically by a parent, stepparent, or parent surrogate.

(Child Abuse and Neglect, NCI Thesaurus)

As can experiences of trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse, or being raised in a dysfunctional family in which there was a high degree of marital discord.

(Depression - men far more at risk than women in deprived areas, University of Cambridge)

Cases of harm to a child caused by parents or other caregivers, defined by the Federal government as: any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.

(Childhood Abuse and Neglect, NCI Thesaurus)