Gender role attitudes, awareness and experiences of non-consensual sex among university students in Shanghai, China

Xiayun Zuo,Qiguo Lian,Chaohua Lou,Ersheng Gao,Iqbal H Shah

doi:10.1186/s12978-018-0491-x

Abstract

BackgroundNon-consensual sex (NCS) among young people, an important subject with public health and human rights implications, was less studied in China. This study is to investigate the NCS awareness and victimization of university students in Shanghai, China and whether they were associated with adolescent gender-role attitudes.MethodsGender-role attitudes, awareness and victimization of different forms of NCS were examined among 1099 undergraduates (430 males and 669 females) in four universities in Shanghai using computer-assisted self-interview approach.ResultsUniversity students held relatively egalitarian attitude to gender roles. Gender difference existed that girls desired to be more equal in social status and resource sharing while more endorsed the submissiveness for women in sexual interaction than boys. They held low vigilance on the risk of various forms of NCS, with the mean score on perception of NCS among boys (5.67) lower than that among girls (6.37). Boys who adhered to traditional gender norms were less likely to aware the nature of NCS (β = − 0.6107, p = 0.0389). Compared with boys, higher proportion of girls had been the victims of verbal harassment, unwanted touch, fondling, and penetrative sexual intercourse. Multivariable analysis revealed that girls who held more traditional gender-role attitudes were more vulnerable to physical NCS (OR = 1.41, p = 0.0558).ConclusionsThe weakening but still existing traditional gender norms had contributions in explaining the gender difference on the low vigilance of NCS and higher prevalence of victimization among university students in Shanghai, China. Interventions should be taken to challenge the traditional gender norms in individual and structural level, and promote the society to understand the nature of NCS better as well as enhance negotiation skills of adolescents and young people that prevent them from potentially risky situations or relationships.

Highlights

Non-consensual sex (NCS) among young people, an important subject with public health and human rights implications, was less studied in China
Zuo et al Reproductive Health (2018) 15:49 girls who held more traditional gender-role attitudes were more vulnerable to physical NCS
Such findings suggested gender-sensitive interventions should be developed to question the traditional gender norms in the individual and structural level, and promote adolescents to understand the nature of NCS better as well as keep away from potentially risky situations or relationships

Summary

Introduction

Non-consensual sex (NCS) among young people, an important subject with public health and human rights implications, was less studied in China. Non-consensual sex (NCS), interchangeably used as sexual abuse, sexual violence and sexual coercion, in general was operationalized to encompass a range of behaviors including unwanted penetrative sex, attempted rape, unwanted touch, as well as non-contact forms of abuse such as, verbal harassment or forced viewing of pornography. These acts may include any coercive situations that the victims lack of realistic choices available to prevent or redress the situation, for example physical violence, threats, intimidation, emotional manipulation and deception [1]. A growing number of studies show that experience of NCS during childhood and adolescence often adversely affects their subsequent psychological, behavioral, and reproductive outcomes [4,5,6,7,8]

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