Note: If you need to leave this page quickly, click on escape.
Caution! Computer and Internet activity can be monitored. If you are being abused or stalked it may be safer for you to use a computer a perpetrator does not have access to (e.g., Open Access Lab). If you need to leave this page quickly, click on escape near the top and bottom right of this page and you will be redirected to Google.com. For more information call the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) at (800) 799-SAFE (7233), (800) 787-3224 (TTY); or visit the NDVH or CyberAngels online on a safer computer.
The California Penal Code defines dating and domestic violence, illegal sexual activity, and stalking in full. To view complete descriptions of these crimes visit California Law, Legislative Counsel of California.
Dating & Domestic Violence
Dating and domestic violence are crimes which comprise abusive behaviors committed by an intimate partner (e.g., [ex-]boy/girl-friend, [ex-] spouse/domestic partner) or family member. They consist of threats of harm against the victim or others, hitting, kicking, sexual assault, and other criminal behaviors. Many perpetrators stalk their victims; some kill their victims.
More subtle forms of abuse include abusers: publicly humiliating their partners; controlling what their partners wear or who they can socialize with or talk to; name calling; withholding affection or personal assistance devices as a form of punishment; threatening suicide; and taking over their partner's finances.
Abusers often isolate their victims, emotionally and physically, preventing them from interacting with family and friends.
Perpetrators will often apologize and appear to make amends, but over time the violence escalates in frequency and severity.
(Related California Penal Code sections include: 13700. Related California Family Code sections include: 6200-6211)
Additional information on dating and domestic violence can be found through:
Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is a crime that uses sex as a weapon to exert control over, humiliate, and harm another person. It occurs when someone uses force, threats, alcohol or other drugs, or other illegal means to: kiss someone else; touch the butt or genitals of another person or touch the breasts of a woman; put a finger or object on or in another person's vagina or anus; put his or her mouth or tongue in contact with another's genitals or anus or make someone else put his or her mouth or tongue in contact with their genitals or anus; and place his penis on or in the vagina or anus of another person. According to California Law "any sexual penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the crime." Attempts to complete the above acts are also crimes.
Other examples of illegal sexual activity include: situations in which a person is unable to give consent or is incapable of resisting (e.g., under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, unconscious, asleep); having sex with someone younger than the legal age of consent; and nonconsensual sex with a spouse.
(Related California Penal Code sections include: 243; 261; 262; 286; 288; 289)
Additional information on sexual assault can be found through:
- Project SAFE
- Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)
Additional information on sexual assault can be found through:
Information on sexual assault specific to male victims can be found through:
Stalking
Stalking is a crime in which someone repeatedly harasses, threatens, and controls another person causing the victim to fear for her or his safety. Examples include someone: showing up at places where you are even though there is no reason for them to be there; leaving unwanted items for you to find; making unsolicited phone calls or e-mails; following or spying on you; vandalizing your property; making threats against you or your family and friends; monitoring your telephone and computer activity; and tracking you using global positioning and other devices.
Stalking can also include perpetrators sending gifts; giving personal information about a victim to others; killing pets; and physical and sexual assaults. In some cases stalkers also kill their victims.
(Related California Penal Code sections include: 646.9)
Additional information on stalking can be found through: