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Chapter 17: Sexual Coercion:
Harassment, Aggression, and Abuse

Sexual Coercion:
Harassment, Aggression, and Abuse

Sexual harassment
Harassment and discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people
Sexual aggression
Child sexual abuse

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment
Abuse of power for sexual ends
Creation of hostile environment
Hostile environment – In which someone acts in sexual ways that interfere with a person’s performance at school or in the workplace

What is Sexual Harassment?

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines define sexual harassment as:
Unwelcome sexual advances
Requests for sexual favors
Other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when this conduct:
Explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment
Unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance
Creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment

Examples of Sexual Harassment

Verbally harassing or abusing someone
Exerting subtle pressure for sexual activity
Making remarks about a person’s clothing, body, or sexual activities
Leering at or ogling a person’s body
Engaging in unwelcome touching, patting, or pinching
Brushing against a person’s body

Examples of Sexual Harassment

Making demands for sexual favors
Physically assaulting someone
Stalking - One type of harassment that may not involve sexual harassment
Defined as a course of action that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear

Figure 1: Type and Percentage of Most Common Stalking Tactics Used Against Women and Men Who Reported Being Stalked In Their Lifetime.

Figure 2: Lifetime Reports of Stalking Among Female and Male Victims, by Type of Perpetrator

Flirtation Versus Harassment

Whether flirtation is sexual harassment depends on
Whether you have equal power
Whether you are approached appropriately
Whether you wish to continue contact

Harassment in School and College

Harassment in elementary and high school
“Time-honored” practice for boys to tease girls
Name calling
Spreading sexual gossip
Fun if defined as teasing - Impact is discounted
Viewed differently if thought of as sexual harassment
Occurs most often when boys are in groups
Usually ignored by adults
Regarded as normal or typical behavior among boys

Harassment in School and College

Harassment in the workplace
Work setting is an important place for adults to meet potential partners
Sexual undercurrents or interactions often take place
Issues of sexual harassment are complicated
Line between flirtation and harassment problematic—especially for men
Many women do not realize they were being harassed until much later
Most pervasive in formerly all-male occupations
Men too victims of harassment, from either a woman or a man

Figure 3: Types of Sexual Harassment Experienced by College Students

Figure 4: Percentage of Women and Men Experiencing Forms of Sexual Harassment in Public Spaces In Their Lifetime

Harassment and Discrimination Against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered People

Heterosexual bias - Tendency to see the world in heterosexual terms and to ignore or devalue homosexuality
Ignoring the existence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people
Segregating gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people from heterosexual people
Subsuming gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people into a larger category

Prejudice, Discrimination, and Violence

Anti-gay prejudice - Strong dislike, fear, or hatred of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people because of their sexual orientation
Homophobia - Irrational or phobic fear of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people
Outcomes of anti-gay prejudice and discrimination
Discriminated against in access to housing, employment opportunities, adoption of children, and parental rights
Harassed and bullied and become victims of physical violence
Prejudice influences parents resulting in estrangement

Prejudice, Discrimination, and Violence

Violence against gay men and lesbian women
Burning to death of “sodomites” during the middle ages
Homosexuals were among the first victims of the Nazis
Continue to be targets of violence even today

Ending Anti-Gay Prejudice and
Enactment of Antidiscrimination Laws

Education and positive social advocacy and interactions are important to combat prejudice
Nine areas in which legal rights should be afforded to LGBT persons
Marriage and relationship recognition
Nondiscrimination employment laws
Nondiscrimination housing laws
Joint adoption
Second-parent adoption
Stepparent and parental presumption
Safe school laws
Hate crime laws
Birth certificate laws

Figure 5: States With Hate Crime Laws Protecting People Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Equality, September 2014.

Sexual Aggression

Sexual activity performed against a person’s will through the use of force, argument, pressure, alcohol or drugs, or authority
Includes petting, oral genital sex, anal intercourse, penile-vaginal intercourse
Sexual coercion - Broader term than “rape” or “sexual aggression”
Includes arguing, pleading, and cajoling, as well as force and the threat of force
Sexual assault – Forced sexual contact
Does not meet the legal definition of rape
Term used by the criminal justice system

The Nature and Incidence of Rape

Means of achieving power or expressing anger and hatred
Forces victim (“survivor”) into an intimate physical encounter with the rapist against her or his will
Actual prevalence rates of rape in the United States are unknown
Most survivors do not report the crime

Figure 6: Percentage of Women and Men Having Experienced In Their Lifetime Various Sexual Violence Tactics Against Them

Myths About Rape

Rape is a crime of passion
Women want to be raped
“But she wanted sex”
Women ask for it
Women are raped only by strangers
Women could avoid rape if they really wanted to
Women cry rape for revenge
Rapists are crazy or psychotic
Most rapists are a different race than their victims
Men cannot control their sexual urges
Rape is “no big deal”
Men cannot be raped

Forms of Rape

Date rape - Sexual intercourse with a dating partner that occurs against the victim’s will
Lifetime experience of date rape ranges from 13% to 27% for women
Confusion about what constitutes consent
Postrefusal sexual persistence - Pursuit of sexual contact with a person after he or she has refused an initial advance

A Date-Raper Profile

Hold traditional beliefs about women and women’s roles
Grew up in a violent home environment
Have an antisocial orientation
Display hostility toward women
Believe in rape-supportive myths
Accept general physical violence
Express anger and dominance sexually
Report high levels of sexual activity
Use exploitative techniques
Report alcohol and drug use
Report early sexual experiences
Tend to be narcissistic, having low empathy and a sense of entitlement

Forms of Rape

Acquaintance rape
Party rape (includes gang rapes), rape in a nonparty and nondate situation, rape by a former intimate, and rape by a current intimate
Stranger rape
Marital rape – Crime in all 50 states
Gang rape
Disproportionately occurs in close-knit groups such as fraternities, athletic teams, street gangs, prison groups, and military units

Forms of Rape

Statutory rape
Consensual sexual contact with a person younger than a state’s age of consent
Age differences may or may not matter
Male rape
Under reported due to several reasons

Figure 7: Type of Relationship With Offender of Female Survivors of Rape and Sexual Assault

Figure 8: Percentage of College Men and Women Experiencing Postrefusal Sexual Persistence Tactics

Motivations for Rape

Anger rape
Physically violent
Weapons
Power rape
Dominance
Sadistic rape
Least frequent
Most brutal

The Aftermath of Rape

Rape trauma syndrome
Emotional changes undergone as a result of rape
Acute phase - Begins immediately following the rape and may last for several weeks or more
Feelings of self-blame and fear
Long term phase - The rape is a crisis in a person’s life and relationships
Effects on sexuality
Victims find that their sexuality is severely affected for at least a short time after a rape

Child Sexual Abuse

Any sexual interaction between and adult and a prepubescent child
Includes fondling, sexual kissing, and oral sex, as well as vaginal or anal penetration
Extrafamilial abuse - Sexual abuse by unrelated people
Intrafamilial abuse - Sexual abuse by biologically related people and step-relatives
Nonpedophilic sexual abuse - An adult’s sexual interaction with a child that is not sexually motivated

Forms of Intrafamilial Sexual Abuse

Incest - Sexual intercourse between people too closely related to legally marry
Father-daughter sexual abuse
Brother-sister sexual abuse
Incest does not discriminate
Occurs in all types of families

Figure 9: Relationship Between the Child Survivor and the Perpetrator of Sexual Abuse

Effects of Child Sexual Abuse

Initial effects
Emotional disturbances
Physical consequences
Sexual disturbances
Social disturbances
Long-term effects
Depression
Self destructive tendencies
Somatic disturbances and dissociation
Health risk behaviors
Negative self concept

Effects of Child Sexual Abuse

Interpersonal relationship difficulties
Revictimization
Sexual function difficulties
Sexual abuse trauma - Contains
Traumatic sexualization
Betrayal
Powerlessness
Stigmatization

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse

Most child abuse prevention programs include group instruction in schools
Either as a component of regular classroom instruction or as an after-school program
Programs focusing on educating parents
Seek to help parents discover abuse or abusers by identifying warning signs
Programs for professionals
Especially teachers, physicians, mental health workers, and police officers

Megan’s Law

Enacted in 1995
1997 the Supreme Court ruled in its favor
Requires law enforcement authorities to make information about registered sex offenders available to the public

Final Thoughts

Sexual harassment
Harassment and discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people
Sexual aggression
Child sexual abuse