Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Chapter Seventeen Sexual Coercion

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Sexual Coercion: Rape and Sexual Assault - 1 Sexual Coercion: Use of force (actual or threatened) to engage a person in sexual acts against that person’s will. Rape: Acts of sex (or attempted sex) in which one party is nonconsenting, regardless of the age and sex of the offender and victim.  Forcible rape  Statutory rape  Marital rape  Reckless sexual conduct  Forced sex

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Sexual Coercion: Rape and Sexual Assault - 2 Prevalence of Rape One in four women will experience at least one occasion of rape in her lifetime. Characteristics of Men Who Rape  Tend to believe rape myths  Acquaintances (date rape)  Husband  Strangers (predatory or classic rape)  Gang

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Sexual Coercion: Rape and Sexual Assault - 3 Women as Perpetrators Whereas 90% of violent crimes (including forced sex) are perpetrated by men, women may also be perpetrators. Woman-to-woman sexual violence occurs.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Theories of Rape - 1 Evolutionary and Biological Theories of Rape: Explain rape on the basis of anatomy, biologically based drives, and natural selection for reproductive success. Psychopathological Theory of Rape: Rapists are viewed as having a mental disorder. Feminist Theory of Rape: Emphasizes the unequal distribution of power between men and women in society.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Theories of Rape - 2 Social Learning Theory of Rape: Views rape as “behavior that males learn through the acquisition of social attitudes favorable to rape, and through the imitation of depictions of sexuality interlinked with aggression.”  The sex-violence linkage effect  The modeling effect  The desensitization effect  The rape myth effect

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Consequences of Rape and Treatment for Rape Survivors - 1 Helping Someone Who Has Been Raped Creating a safe context in which the person no longer feels under threat is paramount. Accepting the person’s range and flood of emotions is also important; these emotions may vary from rage to passivity to sadness to guilt.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Consequences of Rape and Treatment for Rape Survivors - 2 Consequences of Rape Initial reactions to rape include an acute period of disorganization, helplessness, vulnerability, and anger. Rape trauma syndrome Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Consequences of Rape and Treatment for Rape Survivors - 3 Treatment for Rape Survivors Many survivors benefit from:  Crisis counseling for 2-3 months  Long-term therapy including: -Behavioral techniques -Sex therapy -Exposure -Cognitive therapy

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Prevention of Rape A Program for Women: Teaching Women to Avoid Rape A conceptual model of AAA:  Assess  Acknowledge  Act A Program for Men: Teaching Men Not to Rape An AAA program for men:  Ask  Acknowledge  Act

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Child Sexual Abuse - 1 Theories of Child Sexual Abuse  Freudian Theory  Social Learning Theory  Male Sex Role Socialization  History of Childhood Sexual Abuse Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse: Exploitive sexual contact or attempted or forced sex that occurs between related individuals when the victim is under the age of 18.  Father and daughter  Mother and son  Sibling

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Child Sexual Abuse - 2 Extrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse: Attempted or completed forced sex, before a child reaches the age of 14, by a person who is unrelated to the child by blood or marriage. Recovered Memories of Abuse A number of factors may be involved to account for the fact that traumatic memories may be “forgotten.”  Failure to encode  Repression  Long-term depression

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse and Treatment - 1 Impact of Child Sexual Abuse  Lower school performance  Suicidal involvement  Eating disorder behavior  Pregnancy risk  Substance use Treatment of Sexually Abused Children and Adults Sexually Abused as Children A basic step in healing from sex abuse is for survivors to have compassion for their previous choices.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse and Treatment - 2 Personal Choices: Children Testifying in Cases of Alleged Child Sexual Abuse There are at least two reasons to pursue prosecution vigorously:  Criminal prosecution clearly establishes that children are innocent victims and that the perpetrators are solely responsible for their wrongful behavior.  Successful prosecutions educate the public and provide community visibility for the unacceptability of child sex abuse.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse Strategies to Reduce Child Sexual Abuse Strategies to reduce child sexual abuse include:  Regendering cultural roles  Providing specific information to children about abuse  Improving the safety of neighborhoods  Providing information to both teachers and children in the schools  Promoting public awareness campaigns  Improving economic well-being

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Treatment of Rape and Child Abuse Perpetrators Treatment for the Rape Perpetrator Sex offenders rarely seek treatment prior to any involvement with legal authorities and of their own volition. Most sex offenders are required to be in treatment by legal authorities, and many therapists in outpatient programs refuse to take voluntary clients.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Sexual Harassment - 1 Definition and Incidence of Sexual Harassment Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment; unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance; or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Hostile environment sexual harassment Quid pro quo sexual harassment

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Sexual Harassment - 2 Theories of Sexual Harassment  Natural/biological model  Sociocultural model  Organizational model  Sex-role spillover model  Four-factor model Sexual Harassment in the Workplace About half of all working women in the United States are affected by sexual harassment.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Sexual Harassment - 3 Sexual Harassment in Educational Settings Although sexual harassment on campus triggers visions of the faculty sexually harassing students, students may also be perpetrators.

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Sexual Harassment - 4 Consequences of Sexual Harassment Victims complain of: Depression Anxiety Anger Fear Guilt Helplessness Sexual dysfunction Isolation from family/friends Substance abuse

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2004 Sexual Harassment - 5 Responses to Sexual Harassment Victims’ most frequent response to sexual harassment is to ignore it, but the behavior may not stop. Personal Choices: Confronting Someone Who Sexually Harasses You Aside from ignoring or avoiding the sexual harasser, a victim has at least three choices: Verbal Written Institutional/legal action