Words matter. Words are important. Words have meaning. When we had the specific criminal offence of rape in Canada it was defined as non-consensual sexual intercourse. The word rape is presently defined by the FBI as “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” Every definition of the word rape involves penetration. On the other hand the criminal offence of sexual assault is much more broadly defined to be an assault committed in circumstances of a sexual nature such that the sexual integrity of the victim is violated. The part of the body touched, the nature of the contact, the situation in which it occurred, the words and gestures accompanying the act and all other circumstances surrounding the conduct, including threats, which may or may not be accompanied by force will be relevant. While sexual assault includes rape not every sexual assault is rape. One cannot be a survivor of rape unless that person has actually been raped. We do everybody a disservice when we refer to any and every form of sexual assault as a rape. Let’s use our words carefully, as they were meant to be.