Ōtepoti Collective Against Sexual Abuse (ŌCASA​)​
03-474 1592
Dunbar House, 21 Dunbar Street Dunedin
9AM - 5PM - Weekdays
Contact ŌCASA
OCASA - Otepoti Collective Against Sexual Abuse
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  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Our Story
    • Our Organisation in the Media
    • Confidentiality, Complaints & Rights
    • Our Supporters
  • Our Services
  • About Sexual Abuse
    • What is Rape?
    • Child Sexual Abuse
    • Partner and Acquaintance Rape
    • Effects of Rape
    • After Sexual Assault
    • Stages of Healing
  • Education
  • Resources
    • Information for Survivors
    • Information for Whānau and Friends
    • Self-Care
    • The ŌCASA Library
    • Aotearoa Support Services
    • Ōtepoti & Ōtākou Youth Services
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteering
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  • Donate
    • Instantly Via Website
    • Via Givealittle
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Our Story
    • Our Organisation in the Media
    • Confidentiality, Complaints & Rights
    • Our Supporters
  • Our Services
  • About Sexual Abuse
    • What is Rape?
    • Child Sexual Abuse
    • Partner and Acquaintance Rape
    • Effects of Rape
    • After Sexual Assault
    • Stages of Healing
  • Education
  • Resources
    • Information for Survivors
    • Information for Whānau and Friends
    • Self-Care
    • The ŌCASA Library
    • Aotearoa Support Services
    • Ōtepoti & Ōtākou Youth Services
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteering
    • Job Opportunities
  • Donate
    • Instantly Via Website
    • Via Givealittle
  • Contact
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What is Rape?

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So What Actually Is Rape?

People’s attitudes to rape are very different. These attitudes lie anywhere on the following continuum.
Broad View
What the Law Says
Narrow View
Rape is any act of sexual violation
Rape is penetration of a person's genitalia by a penis when that person doesn’t want it
​Rape only happens violently in dark, deserted streets
All sexual attention that is not wanted is a part of rape
Any other forms of sexual violation are not rape, but unlawful sexual connection
Rapists do not know the people they attack
The narrow view comes from a lot of misunderstanding about rape. The broad view extends rape beyond the legal definition. This broad view acknowledges that rape is not always physically violent.

​New Zealand legislation defines rape in the following way:

Person A rapes person B if person A has sexual connection with person B, effected by the penetration of person B’s genitalia by person A’s penis:
(a) without person B’s consent to the connection; and
(b) without believing on reasonable grounds that person B consents to the connection.


Rape may also include:
  • Forced or coerced oral sex
  • Forced or coerced masturbation
  • Penetration with objects
  • Forced or coerced anal sex
  • Across-gender or same-gender sexual abuse e.g. female-on-male, male-on-male, female-on-female, male-on-female.

False Beliefs About Rape

  • If a person did not physically resist or say no then it wasn’t rape
  • Rape would not happen if people did not dress seductively
  • Only young, attractive people are sexually assaulted
  • Only strangers rape
  • A person cannot be raped by their spouse or partner
  • It wasn’t really rape if the survivor was drinking, it was just regretful sex.​
NONE OF THESE BELIEFS ARE TRUE.

Truths About Rape

  • Sometimes resisting can prevent sexual assault, but it can also increase physical violence
  • The way people dress has very little to do with who is assaulted
  • All people are at risk, young or old
  • Relatives and friends are just as capable of rape. Most survivors know their attacker
  • A person can be raped by their spouse or partner. That person has a right to say “no” and the law recognises this right
  • Drinking doesn’t cause rape. Perpetrators do.
Rape is the misuse and abuse of power. Rape is a crime which can take away your dignity and self-determination. Rape can have profound and long-term effects on your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.

Is Rape Always Clear Cut?

What Is Sexual Assault?

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    Your past is just a story. Once you realise this it will have no power over you.

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    Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed; it means the damage no longer controls our lives.

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Location
Address
Dunbar House
21 Dunbar Street
Centre City, Dunedin 9016​ ​​
​PO Box 5424, Dunedin

Contact Us
Phone: (03) 474-1592
Email: 
support@ocasa.org.nz
Opening Hours:
​
9 AM - 5 PM weekdays

Website created by Cheeky Upstart. 2019