Young People's Sexual Relationships Research Articles

‘Doing things you don't wanna do’: young people's understandings of power inequalities and the implications for sexual consent

ABSTRACT Legal definitions of sexual consent emphasise ‘freedom’ as central to valid consent; however, power inequalities may complicate freedom. This paper discusses findings from a two-stage focus group study with young people (aged 13–23) in England exploring the implications of power inequalities for sexual consent. In Stage 1, 77 participants explored and ranked the types of power inequalities they felt were common within young people's sexual relationships, with age, gender and popularity being identified as the most common power inequalities. In Stage 2, 43 participants discussed power inequalities using scenarios based on the Stage 1 findings and considered their implications for sexual consent. Thematic analysis of the data produced two themes: powerless and powerful roles in consent communication and power inequalities implicitly constrain freedom to consent. Consent communication was constructed as a unidirectional process whereby those with more power initiate, and those with less, gatekeep. Such roles require deconstruction to position consent as mutual and actively negotiated by partners. Further, since power inequalities were seen to place implicit constraints on freedom to consent, we advocate for an explicit exploration of power and privilege within Relationships and Sex Education to equip young people to recognise, challenge and negotiate these constraints.

‘As long as he's coming home to me’: vulnerability, jealousy and violence in young people's relationships in remote, rural and regional Australia

ABSTRACTDrawn from a sample of 88 Indigenous young people in five locations in urban and remote Northern Australia, this research utilised a combination of qualitative approaches to encourage young people to discuss their ideas about sexual relationships and violence. Indigenous youth discussed highly public displays of violence, as well as violence within intimate settings and the interrelationships between these two arenas. A key finding of this research was that young people described violence as an accepted part of their sexual relationships and this normalisation led to significant tensions in their experiences and management of their everyday relationships. While violence around young people's relationships in remote communities was reported to some extent as being controlled through both the public and controlled form they take, we found that the increasing mobility of young people from remote to urban locations due to education opportunities and the impact of social media can lead to more serious forms of violence and tension in the maintenance of young people's sexual relationships. This contributes new findings to the literature on Indigenous young people's experiences in relationship forming and management, an area that has received little attention in the academic literature.

Economic vulnerability and young people's sexual relationships in rural Uganda

Drawing on findings from a two-year in-depth qualitative study conducted in three rural areas in Uganda, this paper describes the ‘systematic structuring of vulnerability’ arising from young women's experiences of economic insecurity, and the impact this has on sexual decision-making and practices. It describes economic insecurity within young people's households, perceived gaps in parental provision for young women's basic needs, and the restrictions experienced by young women and men when trying to generate their own income. By examining the links between these experiences of economic vulnerability and young people's sexual decision-making and practices, this paper offers important pointers to the development of future approaches to sexual health programming which incorporate strategies to enhance young people's independent income generation opportunities and reduce their experiences of economic insecurity at home.

Young people's lives and sexual relationships in rural Africa: findings from a large qualitative study in Tanzania

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Research Methods Chapter 3: Village Life Chapter 4: Children's Relationships with Parents, Peers and Teachers Chapter 5: Contradictory Sexual Norms and Expectations Case Study Series 1: We'll Have Sex Again When the Opportunity Arises: Typical Young People's Lives and Premarital Sexual Relationships Chapter 6: Unmarried Young People's Sexual Relationships Chapter 7: Sexual Negotiation, Exchange, and Coercion Chapter 8: Sexual Practices Case Study Series 2: He told me, 'Just come and live at my home': Typical Young People's Experience of Marriage and Divorce Chapter 9: Married Young People's Sexual Relationships Chapter 10: Contraception, Abortion, and Fertility Chapter 11: HIV/AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections Case Study Series 3: The Fever Went Away But Always Returned: HIV-Positive Young People's Lives and Sexual Relationships Chapter 12: Barriers and Facilitators of Sexual Risk Reduction

The Quality of Young People’s Heterosexual Relationships: A Longitudinal Analysis of Characteristics Shaping Subjective Experience

Research on young people's sexual relationships often overlooks subjective experiences and enjoyment. Perceived quality of sexual relationships may be related to gender, background characteristics, circumstances of first intercourse and subsequent sexual history. Longitudinal data from 13-16-year-olds who participated in randomized trials of school sex education in either Scotland (N=5,356) or England (N=6,269) were used to examine young people's subjective experiences of heterosexual relationships. Logistic regression models tested for associations between selected variables and pressure and regret at first intercourse, pressure and enjoyment at most recent intercourse, and three measures of relationship quality. Of the 42% of youth who reported having had sex by follow-up, most assessed their first and most recent sexual relationships positively. Greater proportions of females than of males felt pressure at first sexual intercourse (19% vs. 10%), regretted their first time (38% vs. 20%) and did not enjoy their most recent sex (12% vs. 5%). Younger age at first sex was an important correlate of partner pressure and regret at first intercourse (odds ratios, 2.0 each, for those 13 or younger vs. 15-16-year-olds). Negative experiences were associated with less control (e.g., feeling pressure, being drunk or stoned, and not planning sex) and with less intimacy (e.g., sex with a casual partner and less frequent sex). Background social characteristics had limited influence compared with circumstances of first intercourse and subsequent sexual history. Most young people evaluated their early sexual experiences positively. The quality of relationships was enhanced by better communication and greater physical intimacy. For a vulnerable minority, however, early sexual experiences were negative. They could be protected by delaying first intercourse, restricting sexual activity to established relationships and learning skills to improve control in sexual encounters.

Understanding Young Women's Sexual Relationship Experiences: The Nature and Role of Vulnerability

This paper seeks to operationalise the concept of social ‘vulnerability’ and explore its usefulness as a framework for understanding sexual relationships. Data from 30 vulnerable and less vulnerable young women in one UK city were collected through in-depth interviews and focus groups. An analysis of differences and similarities in participants’ sexual relationships suggested that differences between the two groups of young women could be due to the divergent social contexts they lived in. Similarities in accounts offered, however, indicated that beyond vulnerability due to differences in socio-economic status, gender and other factors are crucial to any model for understanding young people's sexual relationships. The centrality of social context in differentiating between the experiences of different groups of young women, and the protection offered by environments that promote educational attainment and which are characterised by relatively high levels of adult supervision, is illustrated by two case studies of less vulnerable young women.

‘Bus fare please’: the economics of sex and gifts among young people in urban South Africa

In South Africa, young people's sexual relationships are often underpinned by an economic exchange: gifts or favours for sex. Studies have pointed out the negative consequences of the exchanges that are often characterized by large age differences or power imbalances. Perhaps more pervasive but largely ignored, gift giving in like‐age relationships may also be associated with sexual leverage, an exchange which somehow entitles one partner physical and sexual rights to the other's body. The circumstances surrounding gifts and favours may shape young women and men's sexual experiences, their ability to negotiate the circumstances of those encounters, and the possibility of concluding or remoulding a relationship into another form. Using focus group discussions collected in the Durban metropolitan area among young people aged 14–22, this paper examines the economic context of gift giving or receiving and its relationship to patterns of risky sexual behaviour. Findings suggest that gift giving among like‐age adolescents is common and important in shaping sexual relationships. Young people associate money or cash with prostitution, but do not consider gifts as such. Types of gifts and their meaning varied considerably by racial group and by gender.

Sex, gender and power: young women's sexuality in the shadow of AIDS

AbstractWhile the incidence of HIV infection and AIDS amongst non drug injecting heterosexuals is currently low in the UK, epidemiological evidence suggests that this situation may be short lived. The sexual practices of young heterosexuals will then be crucial in determining the extent of the epidemic. Drawing on feminist theory, we argue that if we are to understand young people's sexual relationships we must attend to the power relations within which sexual identities, beliefs and practices are embedded. The social pressures and constraints through which young women negotiate their sexual encounters impinge directly on their ability to make decisions about sexual safety and pleasure. The power of young women to control sexual practices can then play a key role in the transmission or limitation of sexually transmitted diseases. From preliminary analysis of data collected by the Women, Risk and AIDS Project, we argue that the risks young women take in sexual encounters with men arise within a nexus of contradictions through which women are expected to negotiate safer sex practices. However well intentioned, public health campaigns aimed at women cannot be effective unless they recognise that men and women begin their sexual encounters as unequal partners in the battle against the sexual transmission of HIV.