What is Sexual Coercion?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore, India, sexual coercion is “the act of being physically, psychologically, financially or otherwise forced or tricked into engaging in sexual activity.” In order words, sexual coercion is when an individual (the abuser) manipulates another individual (the victim) to engage in sexual activity against their implicit or explicit wishes. An example of sexual coercion is abusers using words and phrases such as “Please,” “Just try it,” “It is only this one time.” The victim may convey visible discomfort in the sexual activity by removing themselves from the environment or by using phrases such as “I don’t want to,” “I am not sure,” “I don’t feel comfortable,” “We can do this another time,” and “No, I am not going to.” Furthermore, sexual coercion may also occur through physical force, or by obligating the victim to indulge in the perpetrator’s wishes through blackmail. World Health Organization (WHO) categorizes sexual coercion under intimate partner violence (IPV) and is considered as sexual assault. Sexual coercion can be limited to kissing but may also extend to fondling and intercourse.
How common is sexual coercion? - The Indian Perspective
WHO conducted a multi-country study on “women’s health and domestic violence against women” and collected data on IPV from over 24000 women in 10 countries (Peru, Japan Serbia, Bangladesh and more), representing diverse cultural, geographical, and urban settings. They found that 6-59% of women reported experiences of sexual assault at some point in their lives. Although research studies from the western part of the world suggest that most women living with psychiatric illnesses have undergone some form of sexual coercion in their lives, there is no concrete data to suggest the same in India. One study from India reports that of the 146 people that participated in the study, 36% reported experiences of sexual coercion based on a series of clinical interviews. The research study states that “In contrast to the 30% of women who reported sexual coercion during interviews, only 3.5% of the medical records contained this information”. Thus, sexual coercion is a serious and prevalent concern among female Indian psychiatric patients that is rarely reported in medical charts. Increased screening and reporting are necessitated, as are sexual abuse prevention and treatment programs specific to the Indian context.
Who can be sexually coerced, and why does it happen?
Anyone can be sexually coerced since the perpetrator is usually someone the victim knows. A South African study found that 42% of females aged 13–23 years reported experiencing physical dating violence. A survey of male college students in Ethiopia found that 16% of people reported physically abusing an intimate partner or non-partner, and 16.9% reported perpetrating acts of sexual violence. Although sexual activity should ideally never occur without both parties’ consent, some risk factors can increase the likelihood of being sexually coerced. According to WHO, there are three sets of risk factors: individual, relationship, and community/societal factors. Individual factors include young age (children, adolescence and young adults are included), low level of education, witnessing or being a victim of child abuse, that may lead to an attitude of acceptance of violence as well as be indicative of a risk for developing personality disorders. Relationship risk factors include male dominance in the family, economic stress, having multiple partners, and disparity in educational achievement. Finally, community risk factors include weak domestic violence laws, broad socio-cultural acceptance of violence and abuse, poverty, and gender inequitable social norms. These factors may increase the likelihood of female victims experiencing sexual coercion and increase the likelihood of males perpetrating the abuse. The perpetrators may have low self-esteem or any of the risk factors mentioned to motivate them to coerce the victim. Consequently, WHO concludes the above factors as strongly correlated to the cause of sexual coercion.
Many studies have considered that males are the perpetrators of sexual assault due to a need for primal dominance and society structured or systemic patriarchy. However, recent studies have shown that women may perpetrate sexual coercion and inflict harm upon their male partners too. These studies have been able to discredit the primal dominance theory to a certain extent. Nonetheless, it can be reasonably deduced that perpetrators of sexual coercion may come in the form of any gender and are usually well known to the victim. The increased number of women who attempt personal and financial freedom has increased the ability to challenge men. This may also debunk the myth that sexual violence is a result of power inequality between males and females and caused by attempts to maintain this inequality. Singularly however, child sexual abuse always reflects the power difference between adults and children.
Impacts and what can be done
Depending on the type of sexual coercion, the impacts are substantial emotionally and physically for the victim. If the coercion took place with physical violence, the victim may suffer from various ruptures and injuries in the genitalia, which may also sometimes be observed for the perpetrator. Reports show that UTIs and STDs are commonly contracted through sexual assault, particularly more often during coercion. HIV may also be transmitted if the victim has been sexually coerced once before. In the WHO multi-country study, prevalence of injury among women who had been physically abused by their partners ranged from 19% in Ethiopia to 55% in Peru. Abused women were also twice as likely as non-abused women to report poor health, as well as physical and mental health problems, even if the violence occurred years before. The victim could also develop post-traumatic stress disorder, depending on the intensity of the assault and the victim’s psychological structure. Quite often, coercion takes place with a partner with whom one is already in an intimate relationship with. This could also account for periods of denial of the abuse and may lead to a lack of reporting and medical tests. The perpetrator may also feel traces of guilt if the coercion was an effect of an underlying psychological disorder, for instance, Pedophilia. The victim may tend to blame themselves for it and develop anxiety or functional-related disorders. One of the best courses of action when having experienced sexual coercion is to seek help from a mental health professional to help manage the psychological impact following the abuse and trauma. The victim may also choose to report the incident to civil authorities.
Remember, sexual activity should always happen with full, willing, and uninfluenced consent from all parties involved.
Author,
Sanjana Kulkarni,
Clinical and Research Intern, PsychLine.in
References
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