Sexual Autonomy Research Articles

Application of the Theory of Gender and Power to Examine Sexual and Reproductive Autonomy among Women in Mahikeng in South Africa

The autonomy of women in sexual and reproductive decision-making within family settings may represent gender equality and reproductive health relief. The theory of gender and power was used to identify socio-economic factors that influence women’s decision-making on sex and family size. A survey of 568 married and cohabiting women was conducted in Mahikeng, South Africa in 2012. Structured questionnaires were used in data collection and were analysed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression methods. The Findings of the study revealed 60.7% and 70.1% women participate in decisions on sex and on size of family respectively. Perceptions husbands had the right to sex, experience sexual violence, being in religious and traditional unions had negative impacts on women’s sexual autonomy. Employed women and reporting choosing of partners significantly enhanced women’s sexual autonomy. Traditional union, experienced of sexual violence sex, perceptions that husbands had right to sex, increasing age, and number of living children significantly reduced women’s decision-making autonomy on family size. The findings partially validated the sexual division of constructs of labour and power in the theory of gender and power. We recommend that women need to be empowered socially and economically to decide freely on sex and family size as indicators of sexual and reproductive health.

Advances in long-acting injectables, implants, and vaginal rings for contraception and HIV prevention.

Worldwide, women face compounding reproductive health risks, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), and unintended pregnancy. Multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) offer combined protection against these overlapping risks in singular prevention products that offer potential for simplified use, lower burden, higher acceptability, and increased public health benefits. Over the past decade, substantial progress has been made in development of extended-release MPTs, which have further potential to grant sexual and reproductive health autonomy to women globally and to offer choice for women to accommodate varying needs during their reproductive lives. Here, we highlight the advances made in injectable, implant, and ring delivery forms, and the importance of incorporating end-user preferences early in the research and development of these products.

대학생의 성인지감수성, 성적자율성, 성태도, 인터넷음란물접촉이 성행동에 미치는 영향

본 연구는 대학생의 성인지감수성, 성적자율성, 성태도 및 인터넷음란물접촉이 성행동에 미치는 영향요인을 파악하고자 수행하였다. D시에 소재한 대학생 165명을 대상으로 2020년 10월 21일부터 30일까지 자가보고식 설문조사를 시행하였다. 수집된 자료는 SPSS WIN 18.0 프로그램을 이용하여 independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, multiple regression analysis로 분석하였다. 연구결과 대학생의 성인지감수성은 평균 4.02점, 성적자율성은 평균 4.15점, 성태도는 평균 4.09점, 인터넷음란물접촉은 평균 1.68점, 성행동은 평균 1.51점으로 나타났다. 성인지감수성은 성적자율성(r=.267, p <.01)과 성태도(r=.605, p <.01)와 통계적으로 유의한 양(+)의 상관관계가 있었고 인터넷음란물접촉(r=-.216, p <.01)과 성행동(r=-.199, p <.05)과 통계적으로 유의한 음(-)의 상관관계가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 성적자율성은 성태도(r=.526, p <.01)와 통계적으로 유의한 양(+)의 상관관계가 있는 것으로 나타났으며, 성행동은 인터넷음란물접촉(r=.509, p <.01)과 통계적으로 유의한 양(+)의 상관관계가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 대학생의 성행동에 영향을 미치는 요인은 인터넷음란물접촉(β=.42, p <.001) 으로 나타났으며, 설명력은 44.1 %였다. 따라서 대학생의 건전한 성행동을 유도하기 위하여 인터넷음란물접촉에 대한 자기 통제 능력을 함양하고, 책임감 있는 성행동에 대한 사회문화 조성과 지속적인 성교육이 필요하다.

“You’re Gay, It’s Just What Happens”: Sexual Minority Men Recounting Experiences of Unwanted Sex in the Era of MeToo

ABSTRACT Our grounded theory analysis derives from in-depth interviews conducted with 24 gay, bisexual, queer, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) living in Toronto, Canada, to understand their experiences of sexual coercion. Participants drew on discourse from the #MeToo movement to reconsider the ethics of past sexual experiences. The idea that gay or queer sex is inherently risky and unique from heterosexual relations made negotiating sexual safety challenging. These notions were enforced by homophobic discourses on the one hand, and counter discourses of sexual liberation, resistance to heteronormativity, hegemonic masculinity, and HIV prevention on the other. Biomedical advances in HIV prevention such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and undetectable viral load affected how some participants felt about sexual autonomy and safety. Participants held themselves responsible for needing to be more assertive within sexual encounters to avoid coercion. Many believed that unwanted sex is unavoidable among GBM: if “you’re gay, it’s just what happens.” Targeted education aimed at GBM communities that incorporates insights on GBM sexual subcultures is necessary. This work must be situated within a broader understanding of how gender norms and hegemonic masculinity, racism, HIV status, and other power imbalances affect sexual decision-making, consent, pleasure, and sexual harm.

Balancing Sexual Autonomy, Responsibility, and the Right to Privacy: Principles for Criminalizing Sex by Deception

AbstractDue to the reconceptualization of rape and other sexual offenses as violations of one's sexual autonomy, consent has replaced the element of force as the focal point of rape law. This shift to a “consent model” of rape has prompted much discussion about the scope of sexual autonomy and the problem of “rape by deception” in legal scholarship. Most theorists of consent argue that certain forms of deception invalidate any token of consent in the same way as forcible sexual contact. However, there is also a widely shared concern that criminalizing sex-by-deception poses serious problems in terms of drawing the line between deceptions that violate sexual autonomy and deceptions that do not. This Article offers an account of principles that should be considered when examining legal cases related to sex-by-deception. These principles are examined and articulated in a way that strikes a balance between responsibility, autonomy, and rights such as the right to privacy.

The Human Right to Sexual Autonomy

AbstractDuring the 20th century, society’s view on sexualities has undergone a severe paradigm shift. While moving away from ideas of decency and bawdiness to evaluate legitimate sexuality, concepts of autonomy and consent gained importance. This transformation is also challenging the law.1 With the broad acceptance of various forms of sexual behavior and sexual orientation, legal regulation based on morality and ethics is outdated. Recent debates on law and sexualities focus on sexual autonomy and its conditions. This is shown especially by the legal debate on sexual violence and criminal law.2 But the right to sexual autonomy does not only require adequate protection against sexual violence. As a human right, it obliges State Parties to Human Rights Treaties such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to respect, protect, and fulfill sexual autonomy. This includes the guarantee of freedom from sexual violence, coercion and discrimination, as well as control over one’s own body and over the involvement in sexual interactions with others. In order to ensure the different components of sexual autonomy, sexual education and reliable access to information and medical services are necessary. This paper presents an approach concerning the multifaceted dimensions of sexual autonomy through a human rights lens.

Between Sexual Violence and Autonomy: Rethinking the Engagement of the Indian Women’s Movement with Criminal Law

AbstractThe aftermath of protests triggered by a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi in December 2012 was archetypal of the broader women’s movement in post-independence India. The primary demands of the social movement to address sexual violence against women were wrapped in the language of rights-based reforms in criminal law provisions. The state responded to the social mobilization in the form of criminal law amendments, while blindsiding key recommendations from feminist groups. This Article revisits pertinent Law Commission reports, subsequent criminal law reforms, and case law on sexual violence against women to analyze how the negotiations between the women’s movement and the State on the seemingly irreconcilable demands of sexual autonomy and punishment for sexual violence. We take account of the intended and unintended consequences of this reliance on criminal law as one of the primary tools in the arsenal of Indian women’s movements. We argue that engagement on the plane of criminal law to address sexual violence against women is a case of limited imagination at best and counter-productive at its worst. This approach of the movement and feminist groups is to react to the “crime” of sexual violence after the fact, leading to distraction from much warranted structural responses. We argue that this approach makes it harder to conceptualize and implement more forward-looking relational models of responsibility that are necessary to address the structural injustice of systemic sexual violence against women.

Sexual Violence and Criminal Justice in the 21st Century

AbstractIn recent years, no area of criminal law has received more public attention than the laws on sexual violence. Discussions about the need for reforms have exhibited a mobilizing force extending far beyond the legal community. From a legal perspective, these discussions concern intricate normative questions regarding the content of the right to sexual autonomy and the suitability of the consent paradigm to establish the limitations of its protection under criminal law. At the same time, they ultimately concern the question of gender-related societal power hierarchies. Acknowledging these broader socio-political dimensions allows us to comprehend the highly contentious manner in which this debate is often conducted. This Special Issue attempts to analyze from a transnational perspective both the fundamental legal and socio-political questions in the current discussions on sexual violence and criminal justice. A recurring theme is the question as to whether criminal law can be used not only as an instrument of repressive social control, but also as a means of power-critical – even emancipatory – social policy.

The Rape Paradigm: Violent Stranger VS Warrior Victim

The purpose of this article is to show the narrow boundaries and incompleteness of the Georgian legislation regarding rape, which fails to cover all the actions from which the protection of an individual's negative sexual freedom is the responsibility of the state. The article aims to show the reader the advantages of the new approach in parallel with the critique of the old law regarding rape, which means expanding the scope of the definition of rape and hence criminalizing more actions. For this purpose, the importance of non-consent as the main element of the rape actus reus is discussed. The article also analyzes the importance of protecting the boundaries of rape so that the state does not unjustifiably restrict a person's positive sexual freedom while protecting negative sexual autonomy. The purpose of this article is neither to criticize nor support any of the consent-based rape models ("no means no" or "only yes means yes" models), but rather to highlight the importance of consent to sex crimes and to emphasize the basic guideline for consent

Obligations of the Government Concerning Sex Offences According to the European Court of Human Rights Case-law

Due to the special importance of the European Convention on Human Rights, the article discusses the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights regarding sexual offences, which establish violations of various rights protected under the Convention. In addition, it is mentioned in the article whether the practice of the national courts complies with the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights. The approaches of the ECtHR on this issue is very interesting, in particular, on the definition of the crime of rape, nonconsensual sexual intercourse and importance of protection of sexual autonomy. Furthermore, the judgments of the ECtHR related to the sexual offences are discussed, in particular violation of the right to respect for private life. As most of the violations in this category of cases are related to the Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, therefore the case-law of the ECtHR in this regard, especially in terms of the definition of torture and the ineffective investigation is the important component of the present publication. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the main challenges existing in the Georgian criminal law and practice regarding the implementation of the European Convention on Human rights on national level.

Respecting and Protecting the Right of Minor Sexual Autonomy

The right of sexual autonomy is not only a natural problem, but also a humanistic problem. In the process of transformation from “biological man” to “rational man”, minors with certain rationality enjoy certain sexual autonomy. The basic concept of juvenile sexual autonomy includes respecting sexual freedom, safeguarding sexual dignity and promoting sexual autonomy. The sexual autonomy of minors faces two basic paths: tolerance and sternness; Has two functions: defense and attack. The state needs to fulfill the minimum obligation of respect and provide the space for the minor's voluntary autonomy. On this basis, the state should also fulfill the duty of protection to protect the space of minors' autonomy from being infringed.

A true face of Indian married couples: Effect of age and education on control over own sexuality and sexual violence

Though there are several interventions evaluated over the past 25 years, significant knowledge gaps continue to exist regarding the effective prevention of sexual violence. This study explored the socio-economic and context-specific distinctive characteristics of husbands and wives on sexual autonomy and unwanted sexual experiences of currently married women in India. We have utilized the recent round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4, 2015-16) data for this exploration. The NFHS-4 survey had adopted a stratified two-stage sample design to reach out to the survey households. A total of 63,696 couples are included in the analysis comprising of women of 15-49 years age and men of 15-54 years age. Multivariate techniques have been applied to understand the adjusted effects of socio-economic and demographic variables on control over their sexuality and sexual violence. Uneducated women married to uneducated men experienced more sexual violence and had less control over their sexuality than the other categories. The adjusted multivariate logistic model shows that educated husbands were significantly more likely to exercise control over their educated wives' sexuality (AOR = 0.88; CI:0.78-0.99). Women having older husbands were significantly less likely to be having no-control over own sexuality (AOR = 0.89; CI:0.83-0.95) and experienced sexual violence (AOR = 0.81; CI:0.70-0.95). Women having comparatively more-educated husbands were significantly less likely to experience sexual violence (AOR = 0.62; CI:0.47-0.81). Muslim women were significantly more likely to have no control overown sexuality. SC/ST women were significantly more likely to experience sexual violence (28%). This study highlights the factors associated with control over one's sexuality and preponderance to sexual violence: age, education, spouse working status, wealth status, husband's alcohol consumption, women autonomy, decision-making, and freedom for mobility. This study suggests that empowering women with education, creating awareness regarding reproductive health, and addressing their socio-economic needs to help them achieve autonomy and derive decision-making power.

A Womb of Her Own: Women’s Struggle for Sexual and Reproductive Autonomy, edited by Ellen L.K. Toronto, JoAnn Ponder, Kristin Davisson, and Maurine Kelber Kelly, Routledge, Abingdon and New York, 2017, 264 pp.

A Womb of Her Own: Women’s Struggle for Sexual and Reproductive Autonomy, edited by Ellen L.K. Toronto, JoAnn Ponder, Kristin Davisson, and Maurine Kelber Kelly, Routledge, Abingdon and New York, 2017, 264 pp.

Early marriage and spousal age difference: predictors of preconception health of young married women in Delhi, India

PurposeThis study aims to assess the associations of early marriage and spousal age difference (independent of early marriage) with reproductive and sexual health and autonomy in decision-making among married women before conception.Design/methodology/approachThe present study was a part of a three-year community intervention to improve the preconception health of young married women (20–35 years) in the West Delhi district of India. The six key outcomes assessed were: knowledge of reproductive health, discussions related to sexual health, history of anemia, use of contraceptives by women, frequency of consumption of meals per day and the autonomy in decision-making for household expenditures. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models were used to explore the associations between the two key predictors (early marriage or spousal age difference), sociodemographic variables and six outcomes. The results were expressed as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). A total of 2,324 women, enrolled from four wards in the district using cluster-based sampling, were interviewed.FindingsAround 17% of women were married by the exact age of 18, and 20% were elder or just one year younger than their husbands. Women who were married early had low reproductive health knowledge (OR (95% CI): 0.48 (0.38–0.60)) and a lower probability of expressing autonomy (OR (95% CI): 0.78 (0.62–0.97)). However, women older than men or younger by just one year in the married relationship had higher reproductive health knowledge (OR (95% CI): 1.25 (1.01–1.54)) than women younger than men more than two years.Originality/valueUnder the umbrella of the preconception care domain, frontline workers should emphasize counseling girls and young women to marry late and delay the first pregnancy.

The Impossible Trinity of Deception, Sex and Consent

During the last couple of centuries, the English law dealing with sexual conduct has made a decisive shift towards a ‘consent-based model’ of rape law. But strikingly, deceptive sexual relationships (DSR) have been untouched by this development as lately reaffirmed by the Court of Appeal in R v Jason Lawrence. If rape is defined as sex without consent, then DSR ought to be no exception, because the general proposition of law is that consent induced by deception is no consent at all. In making a case for the criminalisation of DSR, this article (1) arrays the lack of uniformity in court’s jurisprudence on DSR and (2) brings along the sexual autonomy theory to support its case.

IS A REDEFINITION OF RAPE REQUIRED IN POLISH CRIMINAL LAW?

The article concerns the crime of rape stipulated in art. 197 of the Criminal Code, or more precisely the definition of this phenomenon. The author analyzes the regulations penalizing this type of sexual abuse, in force both under Polish criminal law and under international law, in order to find the answer to the question whether the current provisions of the penal code comply with the convention standards and whether the definition of rape corresponds to the theory of sexual autonomy, according to which sex without voluntary, informed, and free of forced consent is rape.

Safe Sexual Behavior Intentions among College Students: The Construction of an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

Sexual health education is an essential part of quality-oriented education for college students. It aims to help these students to acquire knowledge of sexual physiology, sexual psychology, and sexual social norms that is consistent with the maturity of the students. Along with college students’attitudes toward sex, their perceptions regarding sexual behavior have also undergone profound changes. The importance of safe sexual behavior, sexual taboos, and sexual autonomy are gaining increasing attention as Chinese society is becoming more open. For college students who have just reached adulthood and have full autonomy of themselves, however, are they really going to have sexual behavior without careful consideration? Or is it something they have planned to do in the first place? To answer the above questions, this study was conducted to understand the relationship between college students’ attitudes toward sex, subjective norms, and behavioral control of their sexual behavior intentions by applying the Theory of Planned Behavior. In this study, 460 valid questionnaires were collected from Chinese college students and analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). This study analyzes the relationship of multiple factors, including those influencing college students’ sexual behavior intentions. Meanwhile, it also compares the differences in factors affecting sexual behavior intentions between college students with or without sexual experience and those of different genders. Based on the results of the study, it was found that, first, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control of college students had a significant effect on safe sexual behavior intentions, while attitudes did not have a significant effect on safe sexual behavior intentions. Second, the gender and sexual experience of college students had a significant effect on safe sexual behavior intentions. Third, non-sexually experienced college students were more likely to be influenced by external factors. Relevant future research suggestions will be proposed based on the results of this study. Finally, this study helps to provide substantive suggestions for enhancing safe sexual behavior among college students in the context of universal higher education, as well as strengthening the self-protection of college students and providing practical advice for the development of sex education in China.

The ‘Virtue’ Vertigo: Case of the Paradoxical Virginity Test in Rape Cases

The social concerns attributed to a woman’s bodily autonomy to date stand the test of reason. The recent judgment of the Lahore High Court deeming the derisive ‘virginity test’ on grounds of ‘invasion and infringement on the privacy of a woman to her body has been lauded by women and gender activists across jurisdictions. However, the narrative of crimes against women paints a grim picture. The very existence of the test has garnered much attention and ridicule on account of the malignant impact on the physical, psychological and social well-being of a victim of crime, as abominable as rape. A specimen is the test of virginity, which though now stands unconstitutional in India, yet was prevalent up until 2013. What needs to be noted in this context is that the said test instead of corroborating evidence to the crime of rape places the victim on trial. Needless to say that the dynamics of the virginity test is highly invasive2, having no scientific or medical requirement3, yet carried out garbed under the demands of medical protocols in sexual violence cases4. Needless to say, it is a humiliating practice, which is employed as an instrument of casting suspicion on the victim, more so her character, as opposed to focusing on the accused and the incident of sexual violence5. The current symbolism around the sexual autonomy of women and the construction of gender remain facile, more so fictive6. In this paper, I argue how the standard protocol of collection of medical evidence in trials of sexual crimes, is influenced by social constructs leading to perpetuation attached to coloring a woman’s chastity through the determination of her woman’s sexual history.

Prejudice Towards Sex Workers Depends on the Sexual Activity and Autonomy of Their Work, Hobbies and Daily Activities

Women are more likely than men to be sexualized, objectified and dehumanized. Female sex workers experience stigma and violence associated with these judgements at far higher rates than other women. Here, we use a pre-registered experimental design to consider which aspects of sex work – the level of sexual activity, earned income, or perceived autonomy of the work – drive dehumanization. A first group of participants (N = 217) rated 80 vignettes of women varying by full-time employment, hobbies and interests on humanness. These ratings were subtracted from the ratings of a second group of participants (N = 774) who rated these same vignettes which additionally described a part-time job, hobby or activity that varied in sexual activity, income earned and autonomy over one’s actions. We find that women and especially men dehumanize women they believe are engaging in penetrative sex. We also find that women’s autonomy of, but not their income from, their sexual activity increases dehumanization. Our findings suggest that opposition to women’s ability to pursue casual sex and generalizations about the exploitative conditions of sex work may drive the harshest negative prejudice towards female sex workers and, by similar mechanisms, women’s sexuality in general.

Life routinization and clandestine photo-taking behavior among young people in Hong Kong: Implications for social work practice

With a growing number of reported offenses, clandestine photo-taking has become an increasingly noticeable phenomenon in Hong Kong and other parts of the world. This behavior is usually seen as a selfish act as it invades people’s privacy and sexual autonomy to satisfy one’s own sex drive. However, the present study provides new and varying insights into the problem. This is the qualitative section of an impact assessment including three focus group interviews with 10 young sexual offenders aged between 18 and 25 years who were either arrested or under probation. The results suggest that more than being sexually driven, people engaged in clandestine photo-taking to eliminate their sense of loneliness and break through the routinization of their everyday lifestyle. Living in a fast-paced and highly demanding metropolitan city, they felt lost and occupied to the extent that they were unaware of their purpose and meaning in life. In contrast, clandestine photo-taking allowed them to have a sense of control and satisfaction that they were lacking in their everyday lives. Based on the young offenders’ experiences and responses in the present study, social and parental understanding with early and preventive measures such as curriculum-based sexual education, and sufficient sexual and counseling support will be more important than imposing strong legal sanctions or social control to handle their sexually offending behavior. To assist young people in their need to overcome their everyday life’s boredom, stress, and routine, in combination with existing treatments, a meaning-centered approach is suggested for future practices.