Glossary Advocacy Defending, maintaining, or supporting a cause, proposal, or person. Aggravated Assault An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury which is usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. Assault A violent physical or verbal attack. A threat or attempt to inflict offensive physical contact or bodily harm on a person. Child Sexual Abuse Engaging in sexual contact or sexual penetration, as defined in section 750.520a, with a child under the age of 18. Contact can include touching, grabbing, kissing, rubbing against the child's body, exhibiting parts of the body, making the child touch the perpetrator's body, simulating intercourse, performing a sex act in front of a child, and taking nude photographs. Community A group defined by geographical boundaries, common interests, shared values, cultural patterns, or social problems that affect the people in the group. Date Rape Often called acquaintance rape, this is unwanted sexual contact perpetrated by someone known to the victim. Most commonly, the perpetrator is a boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, ex-husband, or acquainted in some way with the victim. The victim can be female or male and the perpetrator can be male or female. Domestic Violence An assault upon a person who is the abuser's spouse, former spouse, or a person residing or having resided in the same household, or a person having a child in common with the abuser. Formal Social Support Organized support services, such as therapy, support groups, educational services, or drop-in centers. Support groups can be focused on specific populations who are or may be at risk, such as young single mothers living in poverty, or survivors of rape or domestic violence. Hate Crimes Also called bias-motivated crimes, are those based on the perpetrator's bias against another person's race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other characteristic. Offenses can range from trespassing, vandalism, and intimidation to aggravated assault, rape and murder. Homicide The killing of one human being by another. Incest Involves a perpetrator who is a family member of the victim or someone who lives with the victim (e.g., the mother's boyfriend). Informal Social Support The support or guidance a person receives from family or friends. Intergenerational Cycle of Abuse Children who witness abuse, who are abused themselves, or who live in homes where domestic abuse takes place may be more likely to be abusers themselves. Juvenile Generally a person between the ages of 10 and 16 years. For some data sets included in CAT the term juvenile is defined as a different age range. This is noted where appropriate. Neglect There are two categories of neglect: Physical and Medical. Physical neglect means the failure to provide or attempt to provide the child with food, clothing, or shelter necessary to sustain the life or health of the child, excluding those situations solely attributable to poverty. Medical neglect means the failure to seek, obtain, or follow through with medical care for the child, with the failure resulting in or presenting a substantial risk of death, disfigurement, or bodily harm or with the failure resulting in an observable and material impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child. Overall Crime Rate A rate that uses the number of all crimes as the numerator and the entire population as the denominator. Physical Abuse Knowingly or intentionally causing serious physical or mental harm to a child (a person under the age of 18). Population The total number of inhabitants of a given area or country. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder A psychological reaction occurring after a highly stressing event that is usually characterized by depression, anxiety, flashbacks, recurrent nightmares, and avoidance of reminders of the event. Prevalence The number or proportion of cases or events or conditions in a given population. Primary Prevention A proactive approach that seeks to build a stronger community through education and social programming. Protective Factors Factors that can help a person cope with stressors effectively (e.g., social support). Rate A fraction, in which the numerator (top number) is the number of people in whom an event occurred during a certain period of time, and the denominator (bottom number) is the total number of people in the population at risk for the same period of time. When calculating rates, it is sometimes necessary to use a multiplier (usually a power of 10, such as 100, 1,000, 100,000, etc.) in order to transform the rate into a meaningful measurement. Risk Factor Analysis Examination of factors that are thought to influence the occurrence of an event. Risk Factors 1. An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, an environmental exposure, or an inborn or inherited characteristic that is associated with an increased occurrence of the event or condition. 2. Scientifically established factors or determinants that relate directly to the level of a problem. 3. Life experiences and circumstances that can produce stress. Many risk factors have been shown to relate directly or indirectly to violence and to other risk factors. Robbery Theft of attempted theft by force or the threat of force. Robbery is both a property crime and a crime of violence. Secondary Prevention An approach that attempts to prevent a problem before it occurs in an at risk population. This includes identifying the group at most risk for a problem based on identified risk factors. Sexual Abuse Child sexual abuse is legally defined as sexual contact with a person under the age of 16 years. The perpetrator can be an adult or an older child who has power or control over the victim. Non-contact sexual abuse or exploitation includes allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution or allowing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in the photographing, filming, or depicting or a child engaged in a sexual act. Sexual Assault The carnal knowledge of a person, forcibly and against that person's will, or where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. Note: Carnal knowledge refers to intercourse, but sexual assault includes a range of behaviors from harassment to intercourse. Look in the rape section for a definition that include this range of behaviors. Sexual Exploitation Allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution, or allowing, permitting encouraging, or engaging in the photographing, filming, or depicting or a child engaged in a sexual act. State Anxiety Anxiety that fluctuates over time. Tertiary prevention An approach that attempts to solve a problem once it has occurred. Trait Anxiety Anxiety that is relatively stable over time. Trend A long-term movement or change in frequency, usually upwards or downwards. Qualitative Data Refers to data gathered from open-ended questions and interviews. Quantitative Data Refers to data collected from structured surveys. The questions in these structured surveys have responses provided and the participants choose the response that reflect their answers.

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