It happens to girls a lot more than you could ever imagine
How the constant threat of sexual coercion, harassment, and assault shapes the lives of young women
Peter R Reuter, 2024
Since 2016, more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students at a university in Florida participated in an anonymous online survey originally called ‘Why do students have sex?’. However, the survey didn’t just collect data; it asked students to add context to their behavior, why they acted the way they did, or what it felt like to be in a certain situation. Overall, students submitted more than 12,000 comments, explanations, or narratives of what happened and their thoughts and emotions. Some submissions were short and straight to the point, while others were almost short stories.
The media and public have shown a great deal of interest in the growing number of young people who identify with a non-straight sexual orientation, especially the increase in bisexual females. There have also been very opinionated discussions regarding transgender people, primarily transgender women, and the threat they supposedly pose to young girls and women. On the other hand, sexual harassment and violence and the fate of women and men affected by them isn’t something anyone seems to be keen on discussing publicly or in the media.
My book uses data as well as narratives students submitted to show that sexual coercion, harassment, and violence are a constant threat to the physical and emotional well-being of students, especially female students. More than one-third of Gen Z students have been pressured/coerced into sexual activity at some point. Female students are twice as likely as male students to experience sexual coercion (42% vs. 19%), and they are three times as likely to be victims of forced sexual activity than male students (25% vs. 8%). Not surprisingly, LGBTQ+ students reported considerably higher rates, with more than half of pansexual (55%), bisexual (54%), and transgender/gender-nonconforming (TGN) students (53%) reporting being victims of sexual coercion and harassment. LGBTQ+ students also reported considerably higher rates of sexual violence. Almost 40% of pansexual and bisexual Gen Zers had been forced into sexual activity compared with 31% of TGN, 24% of lesbian, 19% of gay, and 16% of asexual students.
Except for gay men (37%), male participants are least likely to be victims of sexual coercion (17% of respondents). They also had the lowest percentage of participants who considered the coerced sexual activity to be harassment. Male, gay, and asexual students had the lowest share of students who considered their experience to be harassment or rape (50-52%). All other groups had shares of 89% or higher.
The media and public have shown a great deal of interest in the growing number of young people who identify with a non-straight sexual orientation, especially the increase in bisexual females. There have also been very opinionated discussions regarding transgender people, primarily transgender women, and the threat they supposedly pose to young girls and women. On the other hand, sexual harassment and violence and the fate of women and men affected by them isn’t something anyone seems to be keen on discussing publicly or in the media.
My book uses data as well as narratives students submitted to show that sexual coercion, harassment, and violence are a constant threat to the physical and emotional well-being of students, especially female students. More than one-third of Gen Z students have been pressured/coerced into sexual activity at some point. Female students are twice as likely as male students to experience sexual coercion (42% vs. 19%), and they are three times as likely to be victims of forced sexual activity than male students (25% vs. 8%). Not surprisingly, LGBTQ+ students reported considerably higher rates, with more than half of pansexual (55%), bisexual (54%), and transgender/gender-nonconforming (TGN) students (53%) reporting being victims of sexual coercion and harassment. LGBTQ+ students also reported considerably higher rates of sexual violence. Almost 40% of pansexual and bisexual Gen Zers had been forced into sexual activity compared with 31% of TGN, 24% of lesbian, 19% of gay, and 16% of asexual students.
Except for gay men (37%), male participants are least likely to be victims of sexual coercion (17% of respondents). They also had the lowest percentage of participants who considered the coerced sexual activity to be harassment. Male, gay, and asexual students had the lowest share of students who considered their experience to be harassment or rape (50-52%). All other groups had shares of 89% or higher.