Media statement

South African men’s understanding of sexual coercion

The South African Medical Research Council’s Gender and Health Research Unit recently completed a study: “Force and Temptation: South African Men’s accounts of coercion into sex by men and women.” This study was an effort at understanding the meanings men attach to sexual coercion when that is perpetrated by men as compared by women.

Thirty one heterosexual men from the Eastern Cape took part in interviews which asked question pertaining to sexual coercion and rape. The men, aged between 18 -25, were asked whether a man or a woman had ever persuaded them or forced them to have sex without consent. A total of 3.4% of men said they have been forced by a man and 9.7% said by a woman.  Unwanted sexual touching was reported by 7.8% of men and 2.3 % reported being threatened or forced to have sex with someone who wasn’t a girlfriend. “Given the general neglect of sexual violence on men, these findings were not only surprising but also interesting to understand,” said Yandisa Sikweyiya of the Gender and Health Research Unit.

“Our data demonstrated that sexual coercion and rape of young men exist in our general population, our data have pointed to the vulnerability of men to sexual coercion and rape, this by men and women. We have evidence that there seems to be an increased risk of coercion of boys by older and trusted women, as their culturally-rooted obligation to respects elders limits young boys ability to resist sexual coercion by older females relatives and family friends. However, what is more worrying is the non-reporting of this to health facilities and authorities. “We are not sure about the health consequences of rape/sexual coercion of men by women, but we are sure that sexual coercion of men by men has serious health consequences,” he added. Evidence based interventions are needed to tackle this problem, “said Sikweyiya.

Furthermore, the study discovered that sexual coercion of men by men and women cannot be compared directly. Men viewed these as different and attached different meaning to each. Coercion by men was perceived as a violation and often termed rape, whilst coercion by women was welcomed as a sign of approval by the opposite sex and termed “Temptation.”

Contact: Gender and Health Research Unit
Tel: (012) 339 8586