Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, Maastricht University, POB 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands,
Arch Sex Behav. 2014 Aug;43(6):1087-95. doi: 10.1007/s10508-014-0280-8. Epub 2014 Apr 12.
Gender-based violence has serious consequences for the psychological, physical, and sexual well-being of both men and women. Various gender roles, attitudes, and practices in South Africa create an environment that fosters submission and silence in females and hegemony and coercion in males. One of the expressions of this power inequity is a high prevalence of forced sex, which in its turn is associated with higher risk of HIV infection. This study therefore assessed potential gender differences in beliefs about forced sex and in prevalence of reported forced sex among high school students (N = 764) in KwaZulu-Natal. Results showed that significantly more boys were sexually active (26 %) than girls (12 %) and that boys experienced earlier sexual debut by over a year. Boys also held a more positive view about forced sex than girls since they associated it more often with signs of love, as an appropriate way to satisfy sexual urges, and as acceptable if the girl was financially dependent on the boy. The perception that peers and friends considered forced sex to be an effective way to punish a female partner was also more common among boys. On the other hand, boys were less knowledgeable about the health and legal consequences of forced sex, but no significant differences were found for other sociocognitive items, such as self-efficacy and behavioral intention items. Consequently, health education programs are needed to inform both boys and girls about the risks of forced sex, to convince boys and their friends about its inappropriateness and girls to empower themselves to avoid forced sex.
性别暴力对男性和女性的身心健康和性行为都有严重影响。南非的各种性别角色、态度和行为方式营造了一种环境，助长了女性的顺从和沉默，以及男性的霸权和强制。这种权力不平等的表现之一是强迫性行为的高发率，而这反过来又与 HIV 感染的风险增加有关。因此，本研究评估了夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省高中生（N=764）对强迫性行为的信念和报告的强迫性行为发生率方面的潜在性别差异。结果表明，明显更多的男孩（26%）比女孩（12%）有过性行为，而且男孩的性初体验早了一年多。男孩对强迫性行为的看法也比女孩更积极，因为他们更经常将其与爱的迹象、满足性冲动的适当方式以及女孩在经济上依赖男孩联系在一起。认为同龄人和朋友认为强迫性性行为是惩罚女性伴侣的有效方式的看法在男孩中也更为普遍。另一方面，男孩对强迫性性行为的健康和法律后果了解较少，但在其他社会认知项目（如自我效能和行为意向项目）方面没有发现显著差异。因此，需要开展健康教育计划，让男孩和女孩了解强迫性性行为的风险，让男孩及其朋友认识到其不适当性，并让女孩增强自己的能力以避免强迫性性行为。
