Zoe D. Peterson

Where is the line between permissible sexual seduction and sexual exploitation? This commentary argues that the answer cannot be settled by global labels such as unwanted sex, nonconsensual sex, rape, or abuse. Drawing on a collaboration between researchers working in violence-against-women and sex-research traditions, we examine three measurement problems that arise when sexual exploitation is defined behaviorally. First, consent must be distinguished from desire, because the terms unwanted, nonconsensual, and without permission may not measure the same thing. Second, measures must identify which sexual acts occurred and whose body was involved without making heterosexual female victimization the only template for harm. Third, coercion must be defined broadly enough to capture pressure, manipulation, vulnerability, authority, and constrained choice, but not so broadly that sexual agency disappears. We conclude that sexual exploitation is best measured by separating act, tactic, and context, allowing researchers to document contested boundaries transparently rather than hiding them behind imprecise labels.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2023), approximately 18% of couples are affected by infertility globally, which corresponds to about 48 million couples and 186 million individuals ...

Rough sex is increasingly common among younger cohorts. Preliminary evidence suggests that engagement in rough sex is not always consensual, and it may be associated with a history of sexual victimization. This study sought to examine that relationship in a large U.S. national sample. Participants (weighted N = 4,546) were recruited to complete an online survey in which they were asked about their experiences enacting a variety of rough sex behaviors on a partner and their experiences having these behaviors enacted on them by a partner-both consensually and nonconsensually. They were also asked about experiences of sexual coercion (sexual acts through verbal pressure) and sexual assault (nonconsensual sexual acts). A single item assessing nonconsensual rough sex was pilot tested. Individuals with a history of sexual victimization (either sexual coercion or sexual assault) were significantly more likely to report enacting rough sex and experiencing both consensual and nonconsensual rough sex. The single item assessing nonconsensual rough sex showed utility (i.e., captured sexual victims that were missed by traditional sexual victimization items) and validity (i.e., was correlated with traditional sexual victimization items and with a multi-item measure of nonconsensual rough sex). Engagement in rough sex is associated with sexual victimization history, pointing to the potential for vulnerability and exploitation within rough sex. Additionally, these results speak to the need to assess for experiences of nonconsensual rough sex, and they provide some preliminary evidence for the validity of a single item that could be added to existing victimization measures.

Sexual aggression is a global issue, yet few studies have used a single instrument to draw comparisons of sexual aggression perpetration rates across nations. This study assessed self-reported rates of sexual aggression perpetration using the Sexual Initiation Strategies Scale (SISS) and compared rates between college students in the United States (U.S.) and Colombia. The SISS separates sexual aggression strategies into three categories: enticement, coercion, and assault. Logistic regression analyses revealed significant country by gender interaction effects for enticement and coercion strategies. Follow-up analyses revealed Colombian men endorsed significantly higher rates of enticement and coercion strategies than U.S. men and Colombian women, suggesting that country norms may play a role in the perpetration of sexual aggression for men. U.S. men and women did not significantly differ in their endorsement of enticement and coercion strategies, consistent with some other recent research suggesting that young, U.S. women are using low-level sexual aggression at similar rates as men. Significant main effects of country and gender were found for assault strategies, with higher rates reported in Colombia than in the U.S. and among men than women. Results highlight both differences and similarities in sexual aggression among college students in Colombia and the U.S. and suggest that cultural messages regarding gender roles might be important influences on rates of sexual aggression.

Sexual victimization (SV) can be defined as experiencing any sexual act that is committed against one’s will or without one’s freely given consent. SV is frequently used as an umbrella term, which ...

Many individuals who have experienced behaviors that legally qualify as rape do not “acknowledge” them (or label them) as such. Although the prevalence of and barriers surrounding rape acknowledgment have been substantially researched, its associations with victims’ recovery remain less understood. This systematic review aims to (a) critically assess the methodology used to study the associations between rape acknowledgment and mental health outcomes; (b) explore how rape acknowledgment is associated with mental health outcomes; and (c) identify variables that may influence or explain these associations (e.g., moderators, mediators, and confounders). Three electronic databases (PsycNet, PubMed, and Scopus) were systematically screened following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Peer-reviewed studies written in English and published between 1985 and May 2023 were included if they met the following criteria: (a) employed a quantitative design; (b) assessed rape acknowledgment; (c) assessed psychological distress or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms; (d) involved adult participants; and (e) presented original data. A total of 26 studies met the inclusion criteria. The included studies primarily focused on the experiences of White undergraduate cisgender women. In most studies, unacknowledged victims reported lower or similar levels of psychological distress or PTSD symptoms compared to acknowledged victims. In some cases, a significant association between rape acknowledgment and psychological distress or PTSD symptoms became nonsignificant after accounting for other variables. Although rape acknowledgment is crucial from a societal standpoint, these findings challenge the assumption that acknowledging a nonconsensual sexual experience as rape inherently facilitates recovery. Instead, rape characteristics and meaning attributions may play a more significant role.

Sexual exploitation (SE) refers to sex acts imposed without freely given permission. Despite the elevated risks of SE experienced by LGBTQ+ individuals, limitations in many existing datasets and research reports preclude a comprehensive understanding by incorporating few LGBTQ+ individuals, not disaggregating by sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), and using non-inclusive measures of SE items. This paper presents the first use of the 2024 revised Sexual Experiences Survey-Victimization to quantify SE in a national adult LGBTQ+ sample (N = 474) using measurement beyond prototypical cisgender heterosexual scenarios. Prevalences of noncontact, technology-facilitated, illegal acts, and verbal pressure SE were stratified by SOGI. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between SOGI and SE. Findings suggest alarmingly high sample-wide prevalence, with 95.23% of participants reporting any experience of SE. Asexual and lesbian cisgender women had significantly lower odds of experiencing verbal pressure and illegal acts than bisexual cisgender women. High prevalence provides evidence for the urgent need to continue investigating LGBTQ+ SE, particularly illegal acts and technology-facilitated SE. Future research should oversample underrepresented SOGI subgroups to bolster cell sizes and increase reliability. Understanding LGBTQ+ SE is essential for informing targeted prevention and intervention.

Sexual exploitation represents a significant public health problem. One form of sexual exploitation that warrants urgent attention is technology-facilitated sexual exploitation (TFSE), especially given rapid increases in digital technology and social media usage, particularly among young people. The newly updated Sexual Experiences Survey (SES-V), a measure of sexual exploitation, now includes a module to measure TFSE. Using data from an online sample of US college students (n = 460, M_age = 24.17) and an online sample of U.S. adults (n = 347, M_age = 45.42), we examined the prevalence of TFSE, determined risk for TFSE among different demographic groups, and evaluated its overlap with other forms of sexual exploitation. Results indicated high rates of TFSE; the college student sample had a higher prevalence than the community adult sample on eight of the 10 TFSE items. In the online sample of adults, younger and LGBQ+ participants were more likely to experience TFSE, and, in the online sample of college students, those who were female, white, identified as LGBQ+, and were older were more likely than their respective counterparts to experience TFSE. In both samples, those who experienced TFSE were more likely to have experienced other forms of sexual exploitation. Findings support the inclusion of a TFSE module when assessing sexual exploitation that will enable researchers to make comparisons across different samples, assess the co-occurrence of in-person and online sexual exploitation, and determine differential vulnerability factors and consequences of online and offline sexual exploitation.