Nonconsensual Sexual Contact Research Articles

Secondary and 2-Year Outcomes of a Sexual Assault Resistance Program for University Women.

We report the secondary outcomes and longevity of efficacy from a randomized controlled trial that evaluated a novel sexual assault resistance program designed for first-year women university students. Participants (N = 893) were randomly assigned to receive the Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (EAAA) program or a selection of brochures (control). Perception of personal risk, self-defense self-efficacy, and rape myth acceptance was assessed at baseline; 1-week postintervention; and 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month postrandomization. Risk detection was assessed at 1 week, 6 months, and 12 months. Sexual assault experience and knowledge of effective resistance strategies were assessed at all follow-ups. The EAAA program produced significant increases in women’s perception of personal risk, self-defense self-efficacy, and knowledge of effective (forceful verbal and physical) resistance strategies; the program also produced decreases in general rape myth acceptance and woman blaming over the entire 24-month follow-up period. Risk detection was significantly improved for the intervention group at post-test. The program significantly reduced the risk of completed and attempted rape, attempted coercion, and nonconsensual sexual contact over the entire follow-up period, yielding reductions between 30% and 64% at 2 years. The EAAA program produces long-lasting changes in secondary outcomes and in the incidence of sexual assault experienced by women students. Universities can reduce the harm and the negative health consequences that young women experience as a result of campus sexual assault by implementing this program. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index.

Some types of hookups may be riskier than others for campus sexual assault.

The high prevalence of campus sexual assault (CSA) among college students in the United States is a chronic public health crisis. Some risk factors for CSA victimization, such as alcohol consumption and female gender, are firmly established, but the evidence for others is less robust. One factor that has received little attention in the literature on CSA is "hooking up," defined as a physically intimate dyadic encounter that may not entail further contact between partners. The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of hooking up, both as a general risk factor for CSA victimization, and the roles of different types of hookups, varying in degree of relatedness between partners, for different types of victimization. A stratified random sample of female undergraduate students (n = 373) from a single, small campus in the northeastern United States completed measures of demographics, alcohol consumption, hooking up, and sexual victimization in an online survey. Results revealed high-risk levels of drinking, and a low-to-moderate frequency of hooking up. Overall prevalence of CSA reported by this sample was 44%, with 40% reporting nonconsensual sexual contact, and 33% attempted rape or rape. Follow-up questions to reports of sexual assaults indicated that most (78%) took place during hookups, and that the riskiest hookups were those with acquaintances and previous romantic partners. If found to generalize to other campus populations, the role of hooking up in sexual assault should be added to systems-based models of sexual assault (e.g.,Heise, 1998) and to educational prevention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record

Sexual Assault: Acute Care and Beyond

Sexual assault, which encompasses any nonconsensual sexual contact, is, unfortunately, common. It results in considerable costs to society, including intangible costs such as loss of quality of life among victims. This review covers the approach to the patient and definitive treatment, disposition, and outcomes for adult and adolescent victims of sexual assault. Figures show female anatomy and common areas for genital injury after rape, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention algorithm for evaluation of possible nonoccupational HIV exposures and nonoccupational post-exposure prophylaxis, a questionnaire for determining additional key aspects of the history of the assault to be completed and explored in detail by the sexual assault examiner, and the components and steps of the Massachusetts Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit. Tables list characteristics that define rape, key aspects of the history, recommended treatment to prevent sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, calculated risks of acquiring HIV from an isolated sexual contact with a known HIV-positive person, and trauma-informed care. This review contains 5 highly rendered figures, 5 tables, 95 references, and a list of helpful Web sites.

Religious Coping: The Role of Religion in Attenuating the Effect of Sexual Victimization of College Women on Trust

Recent reports concerning violence against women estimate that over 3 % of female college students are sexually assaulted each year. If other forms of non-consensual sexual contact are included in these numbers, the estimates climb to upwards of 20 %. With such high victimization rates, there is a resounding call for study of both offenders and victims in an effort to decrease these rates and to mitigate the social effects of being victimized. The present research focuses specifically on the latter, using a victimology-based approach. Using data from a longitudinal study of female college students, this paper outlines the effects of victimization on the generalized trust held by the victims. It is proposed that religion may serve as a means to attenuate these negative effects. Using ordered logistic regressions, religious service attendance is tested as a potential medium for the proposed attenuation.

“Me Getting Plastered and Her Provoking My Eyes”

Barroom sexual aggression—especially unwanted groping, kissing, and touching—is ubiquitous and largely unregulated. While research explicates how alcohol interacts with other precipitating factors to cause incidents like fistfights, the causes of less serious forms of sexual aggression remain understudied. Normalization of non-consensual sexual contact in bars means much of it goes unnoticed and is difficult to quantify or predict using conventional statistical methods. We use 126 young people’s narratives about experiences with barroom aggression to explore how/when it is tolerated or socially sanctioned. We find that alcohol, context, and gender shape attributions for sexual aggression in public drinking settings.

Female Genital Injury Following Consensual and Nonconsensual Sex: State of the Science

Nurses who evaluate patients following sexual assault are often faced with the task of identifying genital injuries and providing legal testimony regarding the nature of the injuries. Following a 2000 Virginia State court decision, sexual assault nurse examiners have had to struggle to answer the questions, "Are the genital injuries consistent with the patient's history?" and "Are the genital injuries consistent with sexual assault?" A search of the relevant scientific literature was conducted. Sources were examined and reviewed to identify what is presently known about adult female genital injuries associated with either consensual or nonconsensual sexual intercourse. Female genital injuries occur with both consensual and nonconsensual sexual contact. Although some studies suggest that differences in injury patterns, types, or locations may exist, the data do not unequivocally confirm these findings. Currently, the presence or absence of genital injury should not be used to render an opinion regarding consent to sexual intercourse. Further research is necessary to determine if injury patterns can indeed distinguish consensual from nonconsensual sex.

Ethical Issues in Distinguishing Sexual Activity from Sexual Maltreatment among Women with Dementia

ABSTRACT A report from the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) defines sexual abuse as nonconsensual sexual contact of any kind with an elderly person. While such forces as ageism, sexism, and hypercognitivism uniquely situate women with dementia as at risk for sexual maltreatment, autonomy-centered bioethical approaches may, like the NCEA, fail to differentiate between coercive and assentual forms of “nonconsensual” sexual activity. This critical analysis brings to light the complexity of sexual ethics in the context of cognitive impairment. The author argues, from a relationship-centered perspective, that although women with dementia are particularly vulnerable to abuse certainly some, if not most, sexual activity between loving spouses may be morally permissible even when one partner has dementia and cannot consent.

Is it Sex or Assault? Erotic Versus Violent Language in Sexual Assault Trial Judgments

This research examined the language used to describe sexual offenses in 75 British Columbia trial judgments. Since 1983 nonconsensual sexual contact is legally termed as “sexual assault” in Canada, so we tested whether the language in the judgments depicted sexual activity or assault. The most frequent characterization was in sexual (erotic or affectionate) language, which strongly implies mutuality and consent, whereas language depicting force, violence, or unilateral action was much less common~regardless of guilt or innocence, the nature ofthe charge, and the age ofthe complainant. We propose that sexualized descriptions minimize the inherent violence ofsexual assaults and hide the survivors’ experience.