Although the State of Alabama has enumerated numerous sexual offenses, the offenses that are most relevant to the typical university student experience are rape, sodomy, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

Both rape and sodomy require that the sexual act was committed without the consent of the victim, including instances where the complainant is incapable of giving consent. Rape entails vaginal intercourse with any degree of penetration, regardless of emission, and sodomy involves oral or anal sex. Sexual assault can be forcible or nonforcible in nature.

Domestic (Dating) Violence – a person commits the crime of domestic violence when violating numerous enumerated state offenses, AND the victim is a current/former spouse, parent, child, any person with whom the defendant has a child in common, present/former.

Stalking – A person commits the crime of stalking in the 1st degree when a person intentionally and repeatedly follows or harasses another person and who makes a threat, either expressed or implied, with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily harm. A person who, acting with an improper purpose, intentionally and repeatedly follows, harasses, telephones, or initiates communication, verbally, electronically, or otherwise, with another person, any member of the other person's immediate family, or any third party with whom the other person is acquainted, and causes material harm to the mental or emotional health of the other person, or causes such person to reasonably fear that his or her employment, business, or career is threatened, and the perpetrator was previously informed to cease that conduct is guilty of the crime of stalking in the second degree.

Stalking can occur between persons of the opposite sex or the same sex.

Consent – lack of consent results from Forcible Compulsion, Incapacity to Consent, or in the case of sexual abuse, any circumstances in which the victim does not expressly or impliedly acquiesce in the actor’s conduct. Alabama State law further defines Forcible Compulsion and Incapacity to Consent as follows: Forcible Compulsion - physical force was used to overcome resistance or the victim was placed in fear of immediate death or serious injury;

Incapacity to Consent - this means that the victim is one of the following: Physically helpless, generally unconscious or unable to communicate, Mentally incapacitated - namely, the person lacks the ability to understand the fact, nature, or extent of a sexual situation due to a narcotic or intoxicating substance which was administered without their consent; Mentally defective - namely, the person suffers from a mental defect or disease or is less than 16 years old