"Sexual violence" or "sexual victimisation" may also be used to refer to the broad spectrum of behaviours from threats and unwanted sexual touching through to rape.ĭisclosure means telling another person about an incident of sexual abuse or assault. Research with young people often uses "sexual coercion" to describe unwanted sexual behaviour in dating relationships (for example Hird, 2000 Hird & Jackson, 2001 Jackson, Cram & Seymour, 2000). It conveys unequal power relationships between the victim and perpetrator because the perpetrator is older, in a position of power, trust or authority. "Sexual abuse" refers to any sexual activity between a child and an adult or older person (five or more years older) (Holzer & Bromfield, 2007). (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004).
The ABS defines it as "unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature directed towards a person which makes that person feel uncomfortable, distressed, frightened, threatened or harmed" in circumstances where that person has not freely agreed, consented or is incapable of consenting to that behaviour. "Sexual assault" encompasses a broad range of behaviours including rape, indecent assault and forced sexual activity that does not involve sexual penetration. In the literature on young people and sexual assault, a range of terms are used including sexual assault, sexual abuse and sexual coercion. National Survey of Adolescents (Hanson et al. International Violence Against Women Survey 2002 (Mouzos & Makkai) Young People and Domestic Violence (National Crime Prevention, 2001) Prevalence of sexual assault among young people Study This is replicated in other research with young people (see Table 2). The Personal Safety Survey found that less than 10% of young women who had experienced sexual abuse before 15 years of age were abused by a stranger (ABS, 2006). Further, contrary to the myth that perpetrators are strangers, the majority of perpetrators are known to victim/survivors. Within schools, peer-to-peer contexts of sexual assault have also been unacknowledged by schools because the assault has taken place outside school grounds, and/or is interpreted as being part of the "rough and tumble" of high school life.Īs the studies summarised in Table 1 demonstrate, sexual assault is common among young people. Such a double standard "primes adolescent dating relationships for coercion" (Hird & Jackson, 2001, p. This may take the form of thinking "if I just try a little bit more, maybe I'll get her into it" (Hird, 2000, p. Expectations that young men will initiate sex and "prove" their sexual prowess while young women are required to protect their sexual reputations create a no-win situation young women cannot positively communicate their sexual desires (according to the stereotype this would make them "sluts") and yet their refusal to engage in sexual interaction may be interpreted by young men as a hurdle to get over. In adolescent dating relationships, ideals and stereotypes about romance, love and sex, and "traditional" gender-role expectations influence the occurrence of pressured or coerced sex.
These myths include the beliefs that: perpetrators of sexual assault are always strangers sexual assault always involves the use of physical force or physical violence a weapon would be involved it occurs in dark, dangerous public places or additional physical injuries are sustained. Secondly, commonly held myths about sexual assault can mean that even where an incident would legally classify as sexual assault, it is not seen as such by victim/survivors.
Firstly, a relationship that is presumed to be based on trust and care can leave victim/survivors and those around them unable to recognise sexual assault by those within it. Young people themselves rarely use the terms "sexual assault", "rape" or "sexual abuse" to describe unwanted sexual experiences and they can have difficulty naming an incident as sexual assault (Hird, 2000 Powell, 2007). Young people's experience of sexual violence and unwanted sexual behaviours includes: Furthermore, new technologies afforded by mobile phones, digital imaging, and the internet contribute to creating forms of sexual assault that the law and society have difficulty defining as assault. Sexual violence taking place in "social scenarios" such as parties, in dating relationships, or between students is often still not acknowledged. Unfortunately, sexual assault between young people, for example in dating contexts or peer-to-peer social contexts has been less visible as a public issue. The sexual abuse of young people by those in positions of authority (e.g., clergy), guardianship (including family members) and care (e.g., sports coach, foster parent) have been a central focus for many of those concerned about young people's safety.
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