The main focus of my firm is to assist attorneys with sex abuse cases. What does the term sex abuse really mean, I reviewed many different on-line site for a definition of the term "sex abuse." I found many similar but different examples for posting, but where these definitions differed so dramatically was in the area of the individual state courts, the reason for the differences is because how the individual courts define sex abuse determine the standard for criminal charges and/or a civil suit.
The free dictionary site defines sex abuse as the following -
Sexual Abuse
1. The forcing of unwanted sexual activity by one person on another, as by the use of threats or coercion.
2. Sexual activity that is deemed improper or harmful, as between an adult and a minor or with a person of diminished mental capacity.
3. A statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat; "most states have replaced the common law definition of rape with statutes defining sexual assault."