What is the difference?
Sexual harassment vs Sexual assault
Both are forms of sexual violation and often appear in the same policies and news stories, so the terms are sometimes blurred. Sexual assault involves unwanted sexual contact; sexual harassment is broader and may involve no physical contact at all.
Side by side
Sexual harassmentSexual assault
DefinitionSexual harassmentUnwanted sexual behaviour that violates dignity or creates a hostile environment.Sexual assaultAny sexual act or contact without consent.
Physical contactSexual harassmentNot required: comments, jokes, messages or images can count.Sexual assaultInvolves contact, from unwanted touching to rape.
Typical settingsSexual harassmentWorkplaces, schools, public spaces and online.Sexual assaultAnywhere; most often by someone the survivor knows.
Where to get helpSexual harassmentKeeping records, trusted colleagues or organisations, formal reporting.Sexual assaultAssault referral centres, rape crisis services, clinics and emergency services.
In short
Harassment can be words, images or behaviour; assault is unwanted sexual contact. Some unwanted touching falls into both.
What they have in common
Both are never the fault of the person targeted, both are covered by laws that differ by country, and support is available whether or not someone reports.
Sources
More comparisons
- Affirmative consentvsEnthusiastic consentAffirmative consent is about getting a clear yes; enthusiastic consent goes a step further and cares whether that yes is truly wanted.
- AsexualvsAromanticAsexual answers "do I feel sexual attraction?"; aromantic answers "do I feel romantic attraction?". A person can be one, both or neither.
- Bacterial vaginosisvsThrushA fishy smell points more towards BV, itching more towards thrush, but symptoms overlap, so it is worth getting them checked by a pharmacist, doctor or sexual health clinic.
- BDSMvsIntimate partner violence 18+Calling something BDSM never makes non-consensual harm acceptable. If limits are pushed, safewords ignored or fear creeps in, it is abuse, and domestic abuse services can help.
Last reviewed 10 October 2026. Spotted a mistake?