New Study Chronicles Sexual Coercion Among Young Adults

Posted April 06, 2009 by margaret

Young adults repeatedly engage in sexual behaviors that they dislike, and women are considerably more likely than men (12% vs. 3%) to do so, according to “Sexual Insistence and Disliked Sexual Activities in Young Adulthood: Differences by Gender and Relationship Characteristics,” a new study by Christine Elizabeth Kaestle that was published in the March 2009 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

It also shows that 7% of men and 8% of women had unwanted sex at their partner’s insistence, and 4% of both men and women had insisted on sex when a partner had been reluctant.

The author concludes that individuals often understand their partner’s initial unwillingness to have intercourse, but insist or employ coercive tactics anyway.
Sexual coercion means employing pressure, alcohol, drugs or force to engage someone in sexual contact against his or her will.

Kaestle suggests that young adults of both genders may need:
Education about the importance of accepting a partner’s desires and being sensitive to a partner’s unwillingness to engage in an activity.

Better understanding of the true extent of a partner’s dislike for certain activities.

Guidance on how to voice their own preferences and dislikes.

There is a growing movement in states around the country to include the kind of information on healthy relationships that Kaestle recommends, as well as information on coercion and abuse, in standard sexual health and education curricula in schools. Unfortunately, right now comprehensive sexual health and education programs are few and far between.

To read the full study, please visit: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/4103309.html