The language we use matters when discussing the sexual abuse of adults within religious contexts and is complicated because the legal language and laws around sexual abuse or assault vary from state to state. In some jurisdictions, sexual abuse tends to describe ongoing harm, while assault usually refers to one specific act.

The term sexual abuse is more often used when referring to abuse of victims under the age of eighteen. Sexual assault is generally used for one-time incidents involving adult victims. This leaves those adults who experienced ongoing abuse without language to describe what occurred and that vacuum is often filled with the word “affair” or the term “inappropriate relationship.”