A brand new study on sex education (or a current lack of it) out of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals an incredibly disturbing but not particularly surprising new number. Almost 10% of young women aged 18 to 24 reported that their first intercourse was involuntary.
This number matters a great deal, for a whole host of reasons. The first, of course, is that the rape of any woman matters, and 10% of any group of women being raped period is much, much too high. But it’s no secret that a rape can have a huge impact on a person’s future view of sexuality, and that view can be particularly affected if the abuse occurs early on. Not to mention that women who have been raped once are significantly more likely to be raped again.
The Closet House
3 years ago
2 comments:
"Almost 10% of young women aged 18 to 24 reported that their first intercourse was involuntary."
This language bothers me. Does involuntary mean rape? What were the research methods. Because the first time I had sex I didn't want to and if someone ask me on a poll, I'd say no, it wasn't voluntary, but I wasn't raped.
It was consensual.
I hope that makes sense. I'm just saying the statistic is alarming and it sucks that more people don't make a positive conscious decision to have sex AND rape is NEVER ok, but I'm just concerned that this number needs to be qualified and/or may be inaccurate.
The actual report is here:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5806a1.htm
The number is 9.6% and the actual word used is "nonvoluntary"
and according to the little footnote: "§ Does not distinguish between child sexual abuse and forced intercourse that is perpetuated by a peer during adolescence."
Data was compiled but the ones probably most relevant for that statistic were collected from hospitals and the ones from schools (public and private).
The hospital survey "defines sexual assault as the use of physical force to compel another person to engage in a sexual act unwillingly, regardless of whether the act was completed. Sexual assault might involve an attempted or completed sexual act involving a person who is unable to 1) understand the nature of the act, 2) decline participation, or 3) communicate unwillingness to participate for whatever reason. It also includes abusive sexual contact, including intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person against his or her will or of a person who is unable to consent (e.g., because of age, illness, disability, or the influence of alcohol or other drugs) or to refuse (e.g., because of the use of guns or other nonbodily weapons or because of physical violence, threats of physical violence, real or perceived coercion, intimidation or pressure, or misuse of authority). This category includes rape, completed or attempted; sodomy, completed or attempted; and other sexual assaults with bodily force, completed or attempted."
The school just surveys risk behavior.
From working the rape crisis circuit, it is possible some of the surveyers were trying to keep away from "rape" as a buzz word because some people don't always recognize/know/willing to/ready to see what they went through as rape for a variety of reasons.
That was all just to clarify. But me personally I'm not sure how sex is "involuntary" and not some form of rape.
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