Today we're going to discuss a sensitive topic. Before you start reading this article, please manually block out any children around you.
"Saying no with the mouth, but the body telling the truth" is a common saying used to describe intimacy between men and women. However, if someone forces another person to do that, that person is a rapist.
Yes! Our topic today is about sexual violence, more specifically, the issue of women being forced into sexual activity for the first time.
On September 16, the internationally renowned medical journal (The Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA) published an original research study that investigated for the first time the relationship between forced sexual behavior and health in women.
After reading this study, I was shocked to discover that 6.5% of women in the United States had their first sexual experience by coercion, and the women who were coerced were mostly very young, with a huge age difference from the rapists.
Even worse, it can lead to them being plagued by gynecological diseases for life...
6.5% of girls' first time was not voluntary.
This research, conducted by Laura Hawks and her team at Harvard University, focuses on whether a woman's first sexual intercourse is consensual.
The survey data comes from a national household survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Shockingly, 6.5% of respondents said their first sexual experience was non-consensual. That means one in 16 people was forced into sexual activity.
However, the data for this study was collected based on self-reporting by the respondents, which inevitably includes subjective underreporting such as "being raped but desperately trying to convince oneself that one was not raped." In other words, the actual number of people may be higher than this.
Rape of women is not just about physical restraint as we might imagine, but also psychological. "Experiencing rape during the first sexual encounter can lead to an extreme loss of autonomy over one's sexual behavior," said researcher Hawks.
Among these, verbal threats between partners are the most concerning, accounting for 56.4%, firmly holding the top spot. Examples include: "If you don't have sex with me, we'll break up"; "If you don't have sex with me, it means you don't love me..."
Contrary to our stereotypes, the most common way rapists rape women is not through physical violence, but through verbal threats.
I suddenly remembered a famous saying: Love should be built on mutual respect; any unilateral threats are simply dishonest. (I don't know which celebrity it was.)
Other reasons include:
26% of women have been verbally threatened by others (not intimate partners).
26% of women are threatened by physical harm.
46% of women are subject to physical constraints
22% of women are forced to take medication
It's worth noting that a large age gap between partners also accounts for 50% of the reasons. In other words, the male partner or rapist is usually much older than the girl or woman.
Such men have certain advantages in terms of mind, body, and social experience, which may exert pressure on women who are significantly older than them in various ways.
The average age of rape victims is only 15 years old.
The survey shows that the average age of a woman's first forced sexual encounter is only 15, while the average age of the men who force them is 27. This also reaffirms that rapists are significantly older than the girls, by a full 12 years.
The "first time" refers to women who voluntarily engage in sexual intercourse, with an average age of 17, while their partners have an average age of only 21, a difference of just 4 years.
Seeing this data, some people may be shocked: the average age at which women are forced to have their first sexual experience is only 15!
Their bodies and minds are not yet fully developed, and the harm this causes them could be a bottomless pit, casting a shadow over their entire lives, both physically and mentally.
Yes, the damage can last a lifetime!
Suffering from gynecological diseases for life
The research report states that nearly 16% of women forced into a "first time" have poor health, twice the rate of other women.
Specifically, these women tend to have poorer overall mental health and are more prone to gynecological and reproductive problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, ovulation abnormalities, and irregular menstruation. They are also more likely to turn to drug addiction.
Hawks said, "The trauma of being raped 'for the first time' is very lasting, which explains why it can lead to later mental and physical health problems."
The relationship between first-time forced sexual intercourse and reproductive, gynecological diseases and general health outcomes
The bar chart below shows this more clearly: blue represents compulsive behavior, and green represents voluntary behavior.
Some researchers have equated compulsive sexual behavior in women with childhood sexual abuse, both of which can lead to adverse mental and physical health conditions. This is because the negative consequences are associated with the occurrence of compulsive behavior, rather than the age at which the sexual activity is experienced.
It is worth noting that women who have experienced early sexual violence may suffer repeated sexual assaults later in life.
Women need to learn to protect themselves
Men should express their desires in a healthy way.
Another point worth noting in this study is which women are most vulnerable to persecution.
Women with poor economic conditions and low levels of education are at high risk of becoming victims, and these women deserve more attention.
From a psychological perspective, such girls are highly likely to be verbally threatened by their male partners.
Some men even believe that women being raped is a kind of enjoyment. This kind of thinking usually comes from certain novels and TV series, which seem to suggest that sex can solve all problems. In fact, this is entirely due to the author's male chauvinistic consciousness.
Forced sex, especially for women experiencing their "first time," can cause devastating physical and psychological harm. It is undoubtedly a negative sexual experience in one's life.
Therefore, I want to emphasize to female friends and parents, especially underage girls, that you must know how to protect yourselves. Be brave enough to refuse when you should, and don't give in to verbal threats, otherwise it may cause you lifelong harm.
For boys, especially those who have entered puberty, parents should also teach them some sex education. For example, not to rape others... (jokingly), and to properly respect women.
Furthermore, in today's society, how many young men treat women is related to how their mothers are treated at home.
The above content is exclusively authorized for use only and may not be reproduced without the copyright holder's authorization.
