Tactics of sexual coercion: When men and women won't take no for an answer

Abstract

We investigated women's and men's reports of experiencing and using tactics of postrefusal sexual persistence, defined as persistent attempts to have sexual contact with someone who has already refused. Participants were 275 men and 381 women at Midwestern and Southern universities. More women (78%) than men (58%) reported having been subjected to such tactics since age 16; this difference was significant for the categories of sexual arousal, emotional manipulation and lies, and intoxication, and for two tactics within the physical force category (physical restraint and threats of harm). More men (40%) than women (26%) reported having used such tactics; this difference was significant for the sexual arousal, emotional manipulation and lies, and intoxication categories. We present participants' written descriptions of their experiences.

Sexually Coercive Tactics Used by University Students: A Clear Role for Primary Psychopathy

“…Participants who had never used the tactics in a subscale were assigned a "no" or 0 value, and participants who had used one or more of the tactics in it were assigned a "yes" or 1 value. These scales have been developed for use with female and male samples, and they have been shown to differentiate male and female university samples in the U.S. (Struckman-Johnson, et al, 2003). We used the subscales to predict tactic use as a function of gender and psychopathy.…”

“…Sexually coercive tactics that the participants may have used to encourage sexual activity with another person were measured by the Postrefusal Sexual Persistence scale (PSP; Struckman-Johnson, et al, 2003). The PSP is separated into subcategories that assess coercive tactics in increasing severity: sexual arousal (e.g., persistently kissing and touching them), emotional manipulation (e.g., questioning their sexuality), alcohol and drug intoxication (e.g., purposefully getting them drunk first), and physical force (e.g., using physical harm).…”

“…While research has focused on sexual coercion used by males, very little research has compared the sexually coercive tactics used by males and females (Struckman-Johnson, Struckman-Johnson, & Anderson, 2003). The sexually coercive tactics used by men and women differ somewhat.…”

“…Women reported being on the receiving end of more lying (42.4%) from their partners, but also more physically coercive tactics, such as kissing and touching (70.8%) and being taken advantage of when intoxicated (42.1%). Both males and females show similar behaviors when trying to convince a sexual partner to say 'yes' after having been refused (Schatzel-Murphy, Harris, Sexually coercive 6 Knight, & Milburn, 2009;Struckman-Johnson, et al, 2003). However, highly aggressive males employ tactics that go beyond exaggeration; intimidation, threats and force are used as a strategy to increase chances of sexual compliance (Struckman-Johnson, et al, 2003;Warkentin & Gidycz, 2007).…”

“…Both males and females show similar behaviors when trying to convince a sexual partner to say 'yes' after having been refused (Schatzel-Murphy, Harris, Sexually coercive 6 Knight, & Milburn, 2009;Struckman-Johnson, et al, 2003). However, highly aggressive males employ tactics that go beyond exaggeration; intimidation, threats and force are used as a strategy to increase chances of sexual compliance (Struckman-Johnson, et al, 2003;Warkentin & Gidycz, 2007). Thus, it is evident that research into coercive tactics used by men and women to gain sex with a partner should include minor and severe forms of sexual coercion.…”