Rape is when you’re forced to have sex, any kind of sex, when you don’t want to, and it is against the law. It is done by someone with more power to someone with less power. It can be violent, or it can be something that someone goes along with because for some reason they think they have no choice. They may think they have no choice because the person has threatened them or is someone older, they may be high or drunk, they may need something the person is offering, they may have been raped before and don’t think they can fight it, or they may think that it’s their duty to have sex. Sometimes in court the person who raped the other may argue that it wasn’t rape, and that the other person wanted it. Proving in court that someone did not want to have sex can be complicated, and a really bad experience for the person who has to prove it. It is possible to be raped by your boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse, even if other times you have consented to have sex with them. If you don’t want it and they force it, it’s rape.

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