SAVA Center - Definitions

ARRAIGNMENT: A court event where the defendants are notified of their rights and the charges against them.

BAIL OR BOND: Defendants may be released if they post money or property as a guarantee they will appear for trial.

BURDEN OF PROOF: The prosecution must prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the defendant committed all the essential elements of the crime to the juries or court's satisfaction.

CONTINUANCE: A postponement of a trial or hearing. Only the court can grant a continuance.

DEFENDANT: A person formally accused of a crime.

DEFERRED SENTENCE: Defendant enters a guilty plea to a criminal charge but sentencing is postponed for a specified length of time. If at the end of the specified time the defendant has met all of the conditions of his sentence, the charge is not placed on his record.

DISPOSITION: An agreement between the parties which provides a settlement of the case without a trial.

FELONY: A serious crime, generally punishable by a penalty of more than one year in prison.

MISDEMEANOR: A less serious charge than a felony. Usually punishable by a fine or term of less than one year in jail.

PLEA: In court, the defendants formal response to the charges.

PRELIMINARY HEARING: The accused is entitled to a preliminary hearing where evidence is presented by the prosecution to a judge. The judge determines if there is enough evidence to justify a trial.

SUBPOENA: A written order to appear in court.

CONTAINMENT APPROADI: A method of case management and treatment that seeks to hold offenders accountable through the combined use of both offenders' internal controls and external control measures (such as the use of the polygraph and relapse prevention plans). This approach is implemented through interagency and interdisciplinary teamwork and requires the integration of laws, policies, procedures, attitudes and expectations that have clearly been designed to work together.

DETERRENCE: An attempt to prevent crime through the threat of punishment.

IMPACT EVALUATION: Long term evaluation of the total effect of prevention or intervention activities on the community as a whole.

"NO CURE": A philosophy of treating sexual offenders based on the assumption that there is no cure for sexual offending. Case management must include offense-specific treatment and monitoring rather than relying on traditional psychotherapy alone.

PREVENTION: Efforts to reduce sexual assault and attempted assault, as well as efforts to reduce harmful consequences after incidents have occurred.

SEXUAL ASSAULT (also rape, sexual violence, sexual abuse): Any sexual contact or attempted sexual contact without a person's consent or in circumstances where a person is unable to give consent. May be by an acquaintance (spouse, partner, date, or relative) or a stranger.

TARGET POPULATION: The group of persons that program interventions are designed to reach.

VICTIM/SURVIVOR: Term for persons who experience sexual assault, which refer to the transition from victimization to empowerment, recovery, and emotional and physical health.

VICTIM SERVICES: Crisis intervention, case management, information/referral, short and/or long term counseling, support groups for victim/survivors, their families and friends.

VICTIM ADVOCATE: A person specifically trained to provide emergency and ongoing services and emotional support to victims of crime.

SEXUAL OBJECTIFICATION: Denies the feelings and rights of a person arising out of an attitude that views people as sexual objects who do not deserve full respect and dignity.

EMOTIONAL WITHDRAWAL: Someone who engages in emotional withdrawal is likely to be uninterested in his/her partner's emotional needs and wishes.

VIEWING VIOLENT PORNOGRAPHY: There is evidence that this desensitizes viewers to sexual violence and is a central element in the socialization of many rapists.

BELIEF THAT SUBMISSION IS CONSENT: If a person stops fighting, saying no, or says nothing, the offender may step up aggressive behavior.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT: Sexually harassing a person includes many subtle and overt behaviors. These include sexist comments, unwelcome attention, violations of personal space, unwelcome verbal sexual advances, invitations, physical advances, explicit sexual propositions, and sexual coercion or bribery. Sexual harassment may be an individual event, a cluster of isolated incidents, or may be repetitive. It is likely to be most destructive when it is repetitive.

SEXUAL ASSAULT: Any unwanted sexual contact.

RAPE: Forced intercourse with the attacker using a weapon, threats, coercion, violence or the threat of violence to the victim or loved ones.