Sexual violence common among black/hispanic teens of liberal parents. Feeling responsible isn't.

[Andrew Lowe]

Nearly 1 in 10 young Americans between ages 14 and 21
acknowledges having perpetrated an act of sexual violence at
least once, and 4% of a nationally representative sample of
American kids reported attempting or completing rape, a new
study finds.

While those most likely to report initiating unwanted sexual
contact in their early to mid-teens were boys, girls were among
the perpetrators as the age of respondents increased. Latino and
African American youths, and those from low-income families,
were less likely to have coerced another person to engage in sex
than were whites and those from higher-income families, the
study found.

And among perpetrators of sexual violence, consumption of X-
rated materials -- specifically those depicting physical harm in
the context of sex -- was notably more common than it was among
youths who did not report efforts to coerce or force someone
else to engage in sex.

The research, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics,
appears to be first to gauge how widespread sexual violence is
among Americans of high-school and college age. It was based on
surveys conducted between October 2010 and March 2012 with 1,058
people ages 14 to 21 who participated in a broader longitudinal
study called "Growing Up With Media."

Drawing upon the U.S. Justice Department definitions of sexual
violence, the authors of the latest research asked participants
whether they had ever engaged in a wide range of behaviors,
including kissing, touching, making an unwilling partner do
something sexual or coercing or forcing someone who did not want
to have sex to do so. That range of behavior might range from
sexual harassment to rape, but is generally all defined as
sexual violence.

In all, 8% of those responding -- 84 of 1,058 respondents --
reported they had kissed, touched or made someone else do
something sexual when they knew the person did not want to
(characterized as "forced sexual contact"). About 3% reported
they had gotten someone else to give in to sex when the
perpetrator knew the other person did not want to (characterized
as "coercive sex"). Also, 3% acknowledged attempting rape,
meaning that he or she had been unable to force someone else to
have sex. And 2% -- a total of 18 individuals -- said they had
forced another person to have sex when they knew the person did
not want to, a completed rape.

Coercive tactics, including arguing, pressuring, getting angry
or making someone feel guilty, were most commonly reported by
those who acknowledged attempted or completed rape. And the
study found that 75% of the cases of sexual violence occurred in
the context of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Ten of the
respondents -- just under 1% -- acknowledged having threatened
or used physical force to get someone to engage in sex.

While vaginal sex was the most common form of forced or coerced
sex sought, it was closely followed by oral sex.

The study also found that perpetrators of sexual violence of all
types were unlikely to accept responsibility for their acts. One
in seven believed that he or she was "not at all responsible for
what happened," and almost 4 in 10 said they considered the
victim somewhat or completely responsible for the reported
incident. And only two of the respondents reported being
arrested for the transgression.

The authors said that the rarity with which perpetrators either
are caught or assume responsibility for their actions
underscores the importance of "bystander" training and
intervention in U.S. high schools and colleges. Such training
emphasizes the responsibility of peers not only to discourage
and prevent negative behavior within their group or community,
but also to recognize, stop or report such behavior when they
witness it. Widely used in anti-bullying campaigns, bystander
intervention is now gaining ground on college campuses as a
means of reducing sexual violence.

The study was conducted by Michele L. Ybarra of the Center for
Innovative Public Health Research in San Clemente, CA, and
Kimberly Mitchell of the University of New Hampshire's Crimes
Against Children Research Center.

[For the Record, 5:42 p.m. PDT Oct. 7: An earlier online version
of this story said the study was based on survey results from
1,062 people; there were 1,058 people.]

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sexual-assault-
teens-20131007,0,1369499.story