CH-14 Sexual Coercion and Resiliency – Human Sexuality: Self, Society, and Culture : Chapter Notes

Chapter 14: Sexual Coercion and Resiliency Learning Objectives Sexual Coercion • Discuss how sexually coercive behaviors differ from typical sexual behavior. • Discuss the two core concepts central to sexual coercion—molestation and sexual exploitation. Rape • Compare and contrast the different forms of rape, including date rape, marital rape, and prisoner rape. • Describe cultural differences in sexual norms as they relate to coercive behaviors. • Identify commonly understood characteristics of perpetrators of sexual coercion. • Discuss differences between rape-prone and less rape-prone societies and groups. • Explain the impact of rape on its survivors, including suggestions on supporting survivors. Childhood Sexual Coercion • Identify the forms of child sexual abuse and characteristics of children at risk. • Identify signs of childhood sexual abuse, behaviors of children who have been abused sexually, and consequences of childhood sexual abuse experienced by survivors. • Discuss how child pornography contributes to the sexual victimization of children. Teen and Adult Sexual Coercion • Identify behaviors that are part of sexual harassment and explain how to respond to them. • Identify behaviors associated with teen dating abuse and sexual bullying. Sex Work and Sex Trafficking • Explain the link between sex work and sex trafficking. Recovery, Resiliency, and Sexual Well-Being • Describe resiliency research and discuss its importance in understanding sexual coercion. Chapter Outline Chapter 14: Sexual Coercion and Resiliency Learning Objectives 14.1 Learning Objectives 14.2 Discussion Topic 14.1 Discussion Topic 14.2 Discussion Topic 14.3 Discussion Topic 14.4 Discussion Topic 14.5 Learning Objectives 14.3 Discussion Topic 14.6 Discussion Topic 14.7 Learning Objectives 14.4 Discussion Topic 14.8 Discussion Topic 14.9 Learning Objectives 14.5 Discussion Topic 14.10 I. Sexual Coercion • Sexual coercion is an umbrella term that includes the threat of sexual force or aggression, in addition to other forms of assault on the self, especially rape, incest, childhood sexual abuse, marital or partner rape, sexual exploitation, and harassment. • An act of sexual coercion is not motivated primarily by sexual desire but by someone’s intent to control, humiliate or harm another person (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2010). • It is especially important to this definition of sexual coercion whether an individual is unable to give consent due to age, illness, disability, or under the influence of drugs and alcohol (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2010). • Central to this approach are two core concepts: o Molestation, considered to be any sexual act performed with a child by an adult or an older child o Sexual exploitation, the sexual abuse of children and adults through the exchange of sex or sexual acts for drugs, food, shelter, protection, other basics of life, and/or money II. Rape • Traditionally, rape was viewed as the forcible penetration of a woman’s vagina by a man’s penis. Now the definition of rape includes other forcible sex acts in a variety of circumstances. The meaning and impact of the violent act changes with the nature of the assault, the relationship between the two people, and to some extent how it is experienced. Also, the definition of rape varies from one state to another in the United States and around the world. • The text defines rape as sexual penetration of the body using physical force, the threat of bodily harm, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent. • The U.S. government reports 17.6% of women have been raped at some point in their lifetime. Table 14.1 gives some insight into the numbers of men and women who have experienced rape in the time span of a year, in addition to those who experienced it any time in their lifetime. A. Date Rape • Date rape is now a significant problem in the United States: 17.6% of women experienced date rape or an attempted date rape date rape. Because of the serious nature of sexual assault during adolescence, experts now recognize that it poses a greater risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than does victimization later, during adulthood. • The high incidence of date rape on college campuses may be due to the use of alcohol and recreational drugs (Abbey, Zawacki, Buck et al., 2001). While alcohol and drug use do not cause sexual assault, it contributes to the higher frequency of assault in a couple of key ways. • Date Rape Drugs—Rohypnol is one of the substances that are referred to as date rape drugs. Date rape drugs are fast-acting sedatives that are virtually undetectable because they are tasteless, odorless, and colorless. They are easily slipped into drinks and food causing people to lose consciousness but remain sexually responsive with little or no memory of what happens (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Without any memory of events, victims are often unaware that they have even been raped, and if they are aware or have suspicions about it, they are unreliable witnesses because of their memory loss. • Date Rape Prevention and Intervention—These tips may help to protect you from being a victim of date rape drugs (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008): o Don’t accept drinks from other people, even if you know the person. It is safer to get your own drink from a bar or make it yourself. o If someone offers to get you a drink, go with that person to order it. Watch the drink being poured and carry it yourself. o Open your own containers. o Keep your drink with you at all times, even when you go to the bathroom. o Don’t share drinks. o Don’t drink from punch bowls or other common containers because they may have drugs in them. o Don’t drink anything that tastes or smells strange. o Have a nondrinking friend with you to make sure nothing happens. o If you leave your drink unattended, pour it out. o If you feel drunk and haven’t drunk any alcohol or if you feel like the effects of drinking alcohol are stronger than usual, get help right away. B. Marital Rape • Marital rape is intercourse forced on one spouse by the other spouse, almost always a husband forcing his wife into having sex. Only in recent years have people realized how offensive and cruel marital rape can be for the victims. • Despite differences in state laws and attitudes that vary by culture and region of the country, and other factors, there is widespread recognition that marital rape is a significant and continuing social problem. In fact, in one study, almost three-fourth of victims agreed that husbands sometimes use force. • Marital rape is a crime in all 50 states in the United States; however, in many states marital rape is considered to be less of an offense than other forms of rape and treated more leniently. C. Prisoner Rape • Sexual violence behind bars has become an issue of national attention in part due to the statistics showing rape, torture, and sexual assault of inmates by other inmates and even prison staff as part of prison life (Anderson, 2005). • According to a conservative estimate by the U.S. Department of Justice, at least 13% of U.S. prisoners have experienced sexual assault in prison and many of those prisoners have been sexually assaulted multiple instances by other inmates and prison staff. Some researchers believe that the real figure is much higher, due to the shame and fear of male prisoners reporting rape. o This means that nearly 200,000 inmates now in prison have been or will be the victims of sexual assault, adding to a total of 1,000,000 inmates who have experienced sexual assault over the past 25 years (Anderson, 2005). o In addition, because condoms are rarely available in prisons, the incidence of HIV/AIDS and other STIs is quite high. D. Victim-Blame • Blaming the victim is not unique to the United States. Victim-blame, the formal term for hostility toward crime victims, is a cross-cultural phenomenon. One cross-cultural study tested the level of acceptance of the belief that a healthy woman can fight off a rape. o It found that 20% of students surveyed in the United States held this belief, compared with 45% of those surveyed in Turkey, 50% in India, and 56% in Malaysia (Wang & Rowley, 2007). o Just as troubling was the result that 64% of the U.S. students in the sample agreed that women provoke rape and that they place themselves at risk for rape when they go out alone. E. Cultural Differences in Rape • Sexual coercion occurs throughout the world, and there are no industrial countries that are “rape free.” However, rape takes different forms and has different meanings in different cultures. For example, the rate of rape in Japan is 1.78 per 100,000 people, whereas the United States has twice as many rapes. • War-torn or conflict-ridden countries typically have much higher rates of sexual violence. Countries with huge poverty and income differences also tend to have more violence and more rape than others, due to the lack of stability and a culture of victimization in such places. F. Societies Prone to Rape • A rape-prone society is one in which women’s desires are unimportant and physical sexual coercion is normative. Advanced industrial societies such as the United States, Japan, and Germany reveal contexts in which sexual coercion of women may be implicitly tolerated (Merry, 2006). • Recent laws and policies have tried to address these abuses, often through creation of laws that protect against rape, even in the context of marriage, although this right is by no means universal or enforceable (Correa et al., 2009). • Here are some common characteristics of rape-prone societies (Sanday, 2007): o Women do not have equal power. o Male violence is tolerated and even promoted. o Violence is often sexualized. o Aggressiveness and competition are encouraged in male behavior. o Male physical force is viewed as both a natural behavior and an appropriate reflection of masculinity. G. Perpetrators of Sexual Coercion • Researchers have learned that there is no simple or typical age for someone who sexually abuses children (Seto, 2008). People of all ages and social classes commit sex offenses. This also applies to ethnicity, to social class, national origin, and other social traits that characterize who may perpetrate rape (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2006). • The main characteristic of perpetrators is that they share gender: the vast majority of all sex offenders are heterosexual males (Seto, 2008). Women are their primary but not exclusive target (Correa et al., 2009). By comparison, males between the ages of 18 and 22 may be more aggressive with sexual partners than are older men. Researchers have found that certain men use coercive tactics that may involve alcohol or other substances to go further sexually, and will become more aggressive when a woman says “no,” possibly using physical force (Sanday, 1990). This tendency appears to decline as men mature into their late 20s (Teten et al., 2009). • Men and boys, especially in contexts of war, are the victims of rape and sexual violence as well, though they may feel so ashamed of what happened that it goes unreported, even to parents (Kristoff & WuDunn, 2009; Long, 1997). Children are especially vulnerable due to power, force, and other inequities involved in child sexual assault (Kristoff & WuDunn, 2009). • Research shows that 80% of the people who molest a child know the child—whether as family member, friend, or neighbor. Consider these other common characteristics of rapists and child molesters (Center for Sex Offender Management, 2007). o Sex offenders have often been found to:  Have low self-esteem  Harbor hostile attitudes toward women  Tend to be very conservative and moralistic  Have sex-negative attitudes about intimacy  Associate with peer groups that accept rape  May grow up feeling guilty about sex and see sex and nudity as foul and shameful • Until recently, females as perpetrators of sex offenses have been largely ignored in the research because societal stereotypes persist that only men are abusers. Keeping in mind the limited amount of research done as well as the diversity of the population, some preliminary findings about adult women who commit sex offenses suggest that they may have the following characteristics: o Histories of childhood maltreatment, including sexual victimization o Mental health symptoms, personality disorders, and substance abuse problems o Difficulties in intimate relationships or an absence of intimate relationships o A tendency to primarily victimize children and adolescents (rarely adults) o A tendency to commit offenses against persons who are related or otherwise well known to them o An increased likelihood of perpetrating sex offenses in concert with a male intimate partner • Recent attention to female offenders should not detract from understanding the diverse experiences of survivors of rape and other forms of sexual coercion. H. Survivors of Rape and Other forms of Sexual Coercion • Each survivor reacts to sexual violence in a unique way, which may have lifelong consequences for their sexual well-being. Personal coping methods, culture, and the context of the survivor’s life may have a critical impact on these reactions. Table 14.3 lists some of the most common physical, emotional, and psychological reactions. III. Childhood Sexual Coercion • Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is arguably one of the most difficult topics to understand as it represents the extreme end of disturbing acts of sexual violence against a vulnerable population. CSA is characterized by acts of sexual assault, molestation, or sexual exploitation perpetrated by older individuals on minors. The offender can be an older adolescent who has not reached legal age or someone decades older (Seto, 2008). Accurate statistics regarding rates of childhood sexual abuse are difficult to gather because so many instances are not reported, but some experts believe that, in general, about 8% of all males, and 17% of all females in the general U.S. population have been abused as children. • In sexual abuse cases involving girls, up to 50% of perpetrators are actually related to the victims (Seto, 2008). For male victims, in contrast, one-tenth of perpetrators are related (Siegel & Williams, 2001). Psychologists have long suspected that not only are many perpetrators close to the child, whether friend of the family or extended family, but they also may be a member of the nuclear family (Barnitz, 2001). • For example, incest appears to occur more often between fathers and daughters, especially stepfathers and daughters, and between older and younger siblings (Seto, 2008). Figure 14.2 shows the relationship of perpetrators to victims of childhood sexual abuse. • Online Sexual Abuse—Stories about the dangers of the Internet, for children and teenagers especially, thrive in the media. Some of these stories describe real-world concerns, such as the ease with which a sexual predator can contact a child and begin a relationship that could end up hurting the child significantly. Healthy Sexuality Some Common Myths about Internet Predators • Myth: Internet predators go after any child. o Fact: Usually their targets are adolescent girls or adolescent boys of uncertain sexual orientation. Especially vulnerable are youths who have histories of sexual abuse, have questions about their sexual orientation, and display patterns of offline and online risk-taking generally. • Myth: Internet predators represent a new dimension of child sexual abuse. o Fact: While the medium is relatively new, most Internet-linked offenses are essentially statutory rape, which means sex that was not forced but was with teens that by law were too young to agree to a sexual relationship. • Myth: Youths are seduced into meeting with predators not knowing what they are getting into and not wanting sex. o Fact: Most victims agree to meet online offenders face-to-face and go to the meeting expecting to engage in sex; three-quarters of them have sex more than once with partners they met on the Internet. • Myth: Internet predators meet their victims by posing online as other teens. o Fact: Researchers found that only 5% of predators did that. • Myth: Online interactions with strangers are risky. o Fact: Many teens interact online all the time with people they don’t know. What’s risky, according to the study, is giving out names, phone numbers, and pictures to strangers and talking online with them about sex. A. Incest • Since the beginning of civilization human groups have had taboos surrounding sex with biological family members. This behavior is referred to as incest. • Research suggests that the incest taboo, which prohibits sex between relatives, is universal and is a uniquely human trait. Incest taboos vary across cultures and the reason is that the definition of “relatedness” or kinship varies by how it is defined in a particular society. • There are two dimensions of relatedness: o Whether one is related by blood or marriage o How closely related one is to someone else within a larger family. • In many societies, sexual relations are forbidden between all family members, whether they are related by blood or marriage. • Biological kin are directly related by blood, and social kin, or in-laws, are relatives through marriage. • People who are most closely related are members of the nuclear family, including the biological father, mother, and siblings. • The extended family is a larger group that includes grandparents, aunts, and uncles who are related to the biological parents by blood, and cousins, as well as the children of siblings, nieces, and nephews. • In some societies, sexual relationships between first cousins are allowed. In fact, a number of U.S. states permit first cousins to marry. B. Child Pornography • The law in the United States (18 U.S.C. §2256) is very precise about child pornography, which is defined as any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, or computer-generated image, of sexually explicit images that: o Involve an actual minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct o Is a digital image, computer image, or computer-generated image that is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct o Has been created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct • Other laws criminalize knowingly producing, distributing, receiving, or possessing childhood pornography (Abramson et al., 2003). It doesn’t matter whether it is a cartoon, picture, or video. If it is sexually explicit or sufficiently suggestive of sexual intercourse and appears to show a minor engaging in graphic sexual intercourse of any kind, it is illegal. IV. Teen and Adult Sexual Coercion A. Sexual Harassment • Sexual harassment has been an important topic of discussion in the U.S. media since at least 1991, when no less than three high-profile individuals were accused of this crime, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. While the Senate was debating the appointment of Thomas to the Supreme Court, Anita Hill, an attorney who reported to Thomas, accused him of making sexually provocative statements to her when he was the chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). • Sexual harassment is any unwelcome verbal, physical, or sexual conduct that has the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. Notice that this definition says nothing about the person’s gender—harassment can and is directed toward both males and females, and toward the same gender, too, although traditionally female harassment is more common. • Generally, there are two types of sexual harassment: o The first type is referred to as quid pro quo, a Latin phrase meaning “this for that.” Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when submission to unwelcome sexual conduct becomes either a condition of employment or something to exchange for a promotion or raise (Stoddard, 2000). o The second type involves the creation of a hostile environment where the harassment interferes with a person’s ability to work. As the term implies, when sexual harassment is present, it is often felt throughout the environment (Stoddard, 2000). • Same-Sex Sexual Harassment—Several different social factors, such as the role of power and inequality mentioned previously, may play a role in sexual harassment. A man can harass another man, for sexual reasons, and a woman can harass a woman, again for sexual or other reasons. • Sexual Harassment in Educational Settings—Sexual harassment is not limited to the workplace. It is all too common on college campuses as well. The majority of cases reported are between peers, usually with male harassers and female victims (Sanday, 2007). One case that made headlines concerns Yale University. The Yale Daily News cited an incident that occurred in 2008 in which fraternity pledges were photographed holding a sign referring to female Yale students in sexually degrading language. Following a federal investigation of a harassment complaint filed by several Yale women, Yale acknowledged failing to take appropriate action in response to harassment complaints over the years and agreed to improve reporting of harassment incidents and take steps to prevent further incidents. B. Teen Dating Abuse • The CDC (2009) has consistently reported that one in four teens experiences physical, emotional, and sexual abuse within intimate relationships every year. While that statistic is alarming, some researchers believe it is an underrepresentation of the amount of women who experience abuse at the hands of their intimate partners (Sanday, 2007). • A large study in 2006 surveyed 1,043 children age 11–14 and 626 teens age 15–18 about the issue of teen dating abuse (TRU, 2006). Its purpose was twofold: o To gauge the degree to which teens have been involved in abusive and controlling relationships o To understand how teens perceive what is and is not acceptable behavior in a relationship. • For teens who have been in relationships, the study found the following statistics: o 1 in 5 teens reports being hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner. o 1 in 3 girls reports concern about being physically hurt by her partner. o 1 in 4 teens reports a boyfriend or girlfriend has tried to prevent him or her from spending some time with friends or family; the same number have been pressured to spend time only with the partner. o 1 in 3 girls between the ages of 16 and 18 says sex is expected for people their age if they’re in a relationship; half of teen girls who have experienced sexual pressure report they are afraid their relationship would break up if they did not have sex. o Nearly 1 in 4 girls (23%) reports going further sexually than desired as a result of pressure from the partner (TRU, 2006). • Although research and education rarely focus on the middle school age group (Fredland, 2008), children this age often experience different forms of bullying, one of which is sexual bullying. This involves the use of sexual threats to intentionally hurt someone. Sexual bullying and homophobia go together in some schools where the culture supports this practice, implicitly or even explicitly. V. Sex Work and Sex Trafficking • Sex work, or prostitution, is as old as civilization. Sex work is paid-for sex, whether payment is in money or goods or the receipt of some other resource, such as a promotion at work, in exchange for sex. A. Different Types of Sex Work • The concept of survival sex, meaning people who sell their bodies for basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter, is evident in a growing number of countries around the world. B. Sex Work and Rights • Countries differ dramatically in how they handle sex work and the rights of sex workers. Historically, sex work was regarded not only as immoral but also as illegal, and sex workers were routinely arrested, jailed, and blackmailed, and generally had no rights at all (Bernstein, 2008). o Many countries still criminalize prostitution and sex work. Sex workers are randomly arrested, beaten, or sexually abused—in short, denied the most basic of all human rights, to survive with dignity. o Even in the United States, all states except Nevada generally regard all sex work as illegal and prosecute people who are caught either providing sex for sale or partaking in it. C. Sex Trafficking • Sex trafficking is the commercial exploitation of people, including selling them into sexual slavery, sometimes across continents. It occurs in many regions, including Eastern Europe, South America, and Africa. Trafficking women and children for sex has been widely documented. • Literally thousands of young women, some of them children, may be kidnapped and sold into global sexual slavery by their community, family, or strangers. In some countries, child sex workers have been estimated to service between 100 and 1,500 clients per year (U.S. Department of Justice, 2008). Parents may even sell children to sex traffickers to get funds for their own survival (Long, 1997). These children may be as young as 4 or 5 but under the age of 13. VI. Recovery, Resiliency, and Sexual Well-Being • A study of 106 participants who had recently experienced sexual violence found that they tended to use disengagement coping, a psychological response that involves disengagement from reality, such as denial, self-blame, wishful thinking, and avoidance of their real feelings (Gibson & Leitenberg, 2001). Helping people to understand that disengagement does not help them heal is one way to support the recovery and resiliency of the victims. • Resiliency is the positive capacity of people to cope with stress and adversity. People vary greatly in their ability to be resilient in the face of adversity. Researcher George Valliant describes resilience as the “self-righting tendencies” of the person, “both the capacity to be bent without breaking and the capacity, once bent, to spring back” (Valliant, 1993). • Some encouraging research notes that not all victims of sexual coercion resort to denial or disengagement coping methods (Gibson & Leitenberg, 2001) or suffer from depression, substance abuse, extreme risk-taking, and other psychological effects. Many studies suggest that good coping skills can predict better emotional adjustment and decrease the risk for future revictimization (Gibson & Leitenberg, 2001). Key Terms Sexual coercion—acts of sexual violence committed against an unwilling or incapacitated individual Molestation—any sexual act performed with a child by an adult or an older child Sexual exploitation—sexual abuse of children and adults through the exchange of sex or sexual acts for drugs, food, shelter, protection, other basics of life, and/or money Rape—sexual penetration of the body using physical force, the threat of bodily harm, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without consent Date rape—forcible sex from someone a victim knows socially or is dating Date rape drugs—substances used by predators to overcome their victims in order to commit nonconsensual sexual acts with them Marital rape—forcible sex from one’s spouse Victim-blame—the tendency of victims of abuse to place the blame for the abusive actions of others onto themselves Rape-prone society—a society or cultural group in which women’s desires are considered to be unimportant and physical sexual coercion is normative Childhood sexual abuse (CSA)—sexual abuse committed against a minor child, including adult acts of sexual assault, molestation, and sexual exploitation Statutory rape—sexual activity with an individual who is too young to legally consent to sex Incest—sex between relatives Biological kin—people directly related by blood Social kin—people who become relatives through marriage Nuclear family—a family system that includes the biological mother, father, and siblings Extended family—a family system that includes grandparents, aunts, and uncles who are related to the biological parents by blood and cousins as well as the children of siblings, nieces, and nephews Child pornography—any visual depiction, including photographs, films, videos, or computer-generated images, of sexually explicit conduct Sexual harassment—any unwelcome verbal, physical, or sexual conduct that has the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment Quid pro quo—a form of sexual harassment in which submission to unwelcome sexual conduct becomes either a condition of employment or personnel action Hostile environment—a form of sexual harassment in which the harassment of an individual interferes with his or her ability to be productive and work Teen dating abuse—a pattern of abusive behaviors used to gain power and control over a current or former dating partner Sexual bullying—any bullying behavior, whether physical or nonphysical, based on a person’s sexuality or gender; involves using sexuality as a weapon and can be carried out in person, behind someone’s back, or via technology Sex work or prostitution—exchanging sex for money or gifts Survival sex—sex engaged in by people who sell their bodies for basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter Sex trafficking—human trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; the U.S. legal definition of sex trafficking includes the exploitation of anyone under 18 involved in commercial sex Disengagement coping—mental methods of coping with abuse that result in disengagement from reality, such as denial, self-blame, wishful thinking, and avoidance of real feelings Resiliency—the positive capacity of people to cope with stress and adversity Instructor Manual for Human Sexuality: Self, Society, and Culture Gilbert Herdt, Nicole Polen-Petit 9780073532165, 9780077817527