is this attempted rape?

I think it would depend on the circumstances, or if there was anything sexual involved, to be considered attempted rape. That's a heavy charge.

 

I have been there...

 

I don't know if it is. I had somebody pull my pants off and grab my genitals once and was told by a family friend who is a lawyer that that isn't enough to constitute as attempted rape and is just sexual assault. I don't know how serious it actually has to be to be considered attempted rape.

 

Your Lawyer friend is rite.
However your wrong. I read your if your reading this comment. However I am neither wonderful nor beautiful. Sorry.

 

I think that attempted rape would have to involve an obvious desire to actually... You know. Like pushing someone to the floor and trying to get their clothes off. It's a horrible, horrible thing and I'm sorry to those of you who have experienced any type of sexual assault. Some people are just scumbags.

 

It probably varies from country to country, or state to state, but in many places, a rape conviction isn't reliant on someone's penis penetrating an orifice.. if I remember correctly, some teenagers in a US state were charged with rape/attempted rape for either trying to or successfully putting their finger inside another student's rear-end.

That doesn't seem to apply here, so depending on what he/she actually did, a sexual assault charge would be appropriate.

 

Again though, I had somebody actually take my clothes off but because she didn't try to force me to engage in intercourse, it wasn't considered a rape attempt. I'm sure she would have if I didn't push her and run away, but it still didn't count even with the desire being there. I think you really have to force yourself onto someone for it to be considered a rape attempt.

 

My god, how awful... I hope you're okay.
I'mNotReallySure is probably right, I reckon it's probably something that varies across countries. I don't know whereabouts you are, but I think that if there was a situation in Britain like the one you described, it would probably get classed as attempted r*pe. If you are in Britain yourself, then I really don't know. Honestly, I've never been sure where the line between "sexual assault" and "(attempted) r*pe" is drawn, I always assumed that it would be at any point where their intentions of r*pe were clear, however that may be signalled.

 

I think that might come down to gender as well.. women will find it easier to get away with a slap on the wrist when it comes to crimes like assault or rape, when the victim is male, because society, by and large, wouldn't consider such a crime to be serious - or at least, not as serious as the opposite scenario. The law works in weird and mysterious ways.

 

That is unfortunately true and absolutely horrible. I always assumed that it was because the law considers women to be physically weaker than men and so less able to assault people or something, but who knows. In any case, it's an awful double-standard.

 

Doesn't sound like it.

 

I feel like this might have got derailed a little bit. What happened may have been done with the intent of rape, but it is really difficult to know for sure. I'm sure it wasn't positive what this person was planning to do, but the situation was very brief and didn't leave a lot of room for determining a motivation. I think they may have been planning on it, but it isn't really something that can be proven.

 

A friend of mine was physically attacked in a high school bathroom, but it wasn't because they wanted to rape him. They wanted to kill him, because he's gay. It's hard to know what a violent person's intentions are at all points, because our brains don't seem to be processing fast enough.

 

Can you speak to a trusted adult in your school about this attack? Although the specific intent of the attack is uncertain, in no way is it acceptable. You deserve to be safe... to feel safe... to know you have support and a safe space. If the first adult doesn't do anything, find another one who will.

 

Good idea. I know it might not be something that you want to talk about, but teachers - especially school counsellors - do have training for situations like this.

 

Talk to someone. Trust me on this. It's hard to say what the person meant to do or what else could have happened without more details or getting inside their head. But you owe it to yourself to talk to someone at your school, especially if you know who the person was and can identify them. My condolences...

 

That's good advice, but you should be careful who you talk to. Make sure it's someone who you know for a fact you can trust and will take you seriously. If nobody listens you should go to your parents. They will take you much more seriously then hopefully.

 

Either way, you were assaulted and that person had absolutely no right to do that to you. Hopefully there will be consequences for his actions.