Sexual coercion content in 21 sexuality education curricula.

Sexual coercion, a topic of relevance to school health personnel, may be as common in high school populations as in university populations. Twenty-one sexuality education curricula were examined for information on the topics of date rape, stranger rape, pressure, incest, sexual harassment, unwanted/inappropriate touch, and exploitation/victimization. Curricula scoring highest in total coverage also were the most comprehensive with six of the seven sexual coercion topics covered. Overall, pressure and exploitation/victimization received the greatest attention, while sexual harassment was not covered in any of the curricula. Common themes occurring within the coercion topic areas included guilt, communication/assertiveness skills, blame, drug use, premeditation, fear, sources of help. Results suggest sexuality education curricula have not responded to the increased concern regarding sexual harassment in schools.