Abstract
This study aimed to determine the prevalence of non-consensual sex in older adult men and women across Europe, and to find out what variables predict such experiences in different European countries. Data were collected using probability samples from populations, aged 60–75 years, in Norway (N = 1271), Denmark (N = 1045), Belgium (N = 991), and Portugal (N = 509), using postal questionnaires. Around 5% of men included in the study, in all of the countries, reported non-consensual sexual experiences. Non-consensual sexual experiences were higher in gay/bisexual men when compared against heterosexual men. Partnered men had a lower likelihood of childhood non-consensual sex than those without partners. Compared against men with primary education, those who had undergone tertiary education had a lower likelihood of having experienced adult non-consensual sex. For women, rates of reporting non-consensual sex before and after the age of 18 years were lowest in Portugal (2% and 6%, respectively) and highest in Norway (9% and 11%, respectively). Compared with women with no religious affiliations, protestant women showed a lower likelihood of having experienced childhood non-consensual sex. In comparison to Norwegian women, Belgian and Portuguese women were observed to have had a lower likelihood of having experienced childhood non-consensual sex. Compared to women who were non-partnered, had no religious affiliation, or had primary education, women who were partnered, Roman Catholic, and had higher education showed a lower likelihood of having experienced non-consensual sex in adulthood. Experience of non-consensual sex correlated significantly, albeit weakly, with greater levels of both anxiety and depression, decreased subjective well-being, lower perceived intimacy with one’s partner, and higher feelings of loneliness.
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This research was fully financed by the Norwegian Research Council under the Grant No. 250637.
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Træen, B., Kvalem, I.L. & Ohnstad, I. Experiences of Non-consensual Sex of Older Adult Men and Women in Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Portugal. Sexuality & Culture 24, 113–139 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09630-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09630-6