The Impact of Sexual Victimization on Adolescent Boys' Sexual Risk and Sexual Aggression Behavior

Although research on sexual violence has predominantly focused on sexual violence towards girls and women, the World Health Organizations exerts that sexual violence toward boys and men is a serious problem. Yet, despite nationally representative studies supporting the high prevalence of sexual violence affecting boys nearly all research on sexual victimization in South Africa focuses on female victimization. The belief that sexual violence does not happen to boys or that it may not be as problematic as it is for girls may contribute to this dearth of research. Research suggests that people minimize the seriousness of sexual violence against men and boys and are more likely to believe that the victim would enjoy the sexual encounter when the perpetrator was female. However, few quantitative studies are available to provide insight into the consequences of boys’ sexual victimization. Thus little is known about how sexual victimization may influence boys’ later risky sexual behavior, sexual aggression and sexual belief systems compared to their non-victimized peers.

The current study uses three waves of self-report data from 5111 South African adolescent boys to examine the role of sexual coercion on later sexual norms, beliefs, and behaviors. Nearly 20% of boys experienced sexual coercion between Waves 1 and 2. Boys who experienced coerced sex prior to Wave 1 were excluded. Sexual coercion if they endorsed any of the following at Wave 2: the only time they ever had sex they were forced, that they were ever made to have sex against their will or the last time they had sex it was forced.

Results suggest that boys experiencing sexual coercion prior to Wave 2 perceive more sexual behavior and sexual victimization among peers, are less likely to endorse positive sexual beliefs (such as believing it is okay for a boy or girl to carry a condom and abstain from sex), and report lower self-efficacy to control their sexual encounters at Wave 2. Boys who experience sexual coercion were also more likely to report engaging in riskier sex (alcohol and/or marijuana use, and lack of condom use at last sex) and were more likely to say that they forced someone else to do something sexual at Wave 3 compared to boys who did not experience sexual coercion. Both the effect of sexual coercion on sexual risk behavior and sexual aggression was partially mediated by the effects of sexual coercion on perceived norms and sexual beliefs.

Findings suggest that sexual violence is associated with increased riskier sex and sexual aggression among boys, which is partially explained by the effect of sexual coercion on perceived norm and sexual beliefs. These findings are important to consider when planning interventions aimed at reducing sexual risk behaviors as interventions.