“Consent and Coercion: Examining Unwanted Sex Among Married Young Women in India”

This study, by K.G. Santhya, Nicole Haberland, F. Ram, R.K. Sinha and S.K. Mohanty, reports:

A growing body of research explores the nonconsensual sexual experiences of young people in developing countries. A recent review of evidence suggests that significant minorities of young people:perhaps as many as one in 10 young men and one in five young women:have experienced nonconsensual sex. In addition, between 2% and 33% of ever-partnered young women in Latin America and the Caribbean, and between 3% and 33% of ever-married or -partnered young women in Asia have experienced coerced sex within a formal union or marriage. According to data from a multicountry study conducted by the World Health Organization, between 4% and 57% of ever-partnered 15–19-year-old women had ever experienced sexual violence by an intimate partner, and 3–47% had experienced such violence in the 12 months preceding the study. Indeed, these findings suggest that married adolescent girls and young women constitute a group with an elevated risk of coerced sex, compared with older women and sexually active unmarried women. Moreover, adolescent girls and young women who have experienced sexual coercion are more likely to experience a range of negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes, including symptoms of genital tract infection, STIs, unintended pregnancy and nonuse or inconsistent use of condoms.

Read the whole thing here. Via the excellent Reproductive Rights Blog.

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