According to the Sex and Dating survey conducted by The Cougar Press, 8 percent of students at Ventura High School who have been in a relationship have been physically abused at least once. Out of the students that have participated in sexual activity, 9.6 percent reported that they have been apart of sexual activity that they didn’t consent to, while 2 percent said that they have been apart of sexual activity that their partner didn’t consent to.

This means that 19.6 percent of VHS students have either been physically abused by their partner or involved in un-consensual sexual activity. This might lead one to wonder what the laws regarding sexual harassment, abuse and rape are in the state of California.

According to Section 264 of the California Penal Code, “Except as provided in subdivision (c), rape, as defined in Section 261 or 262, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.” Additionally, “any person who commits rape in violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 261 upon a child of 14 years of age or older shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 7, 9, or 11 years,” and if the child is under the age of 14, the person “shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 9, 11, or 13 years.”

According to the California Courts, domestic violence laws say that abuse is “physically hurting or trying to hurt someone intentionally or recklessly.” And sexual assault is defined as, “making someone reasonably afraid that he or she or someone else is about to be seriously hurt (like threats or promises to harm someone)” or “behavior like harassing, stalking, threatening, or hitting someone, disturbing someone’s peace, or destroying someone’s personal property.”

This means that abuse isn’t just physical, it is verbal as well. 172 out of 992 VHS students reported that they have been physically abused at least once in a relationship, that’s 17.3 percent. Teen Dating Violence explains that the abuser can be guilty of “criminal threats.”

Anyone over the age of 12 can request a restraining order without the consent of their parents, California Courts explains. In addition, Teen Dating Violence stated, “A teenager served with a restraining order may be prohibited from going to certain locations or required to complete certain intervention programs.”

According to the Health and Safety Code, anyone who is a victim of rape or sexual assault gets an examination at no charge to the victim. Additionally, “a county hospital shall, without charge, provide the victim of rape, or other sexual assault, with testing for venereal disease and pregnancy.”