sexual abuse from romantic/sexual partners

sexual abuse from romantic/sexual partners Another type of sexual abuse that is more widely discussed in the literature on rape
than in child sexual abuse is that of abuse by a romantic or sexual partner. Yet, it
remains a significant problem for adolescents, as 7% of all females in Russell’s
(1983) study were victims of this type of abuse. Further, this abuse (along with abuse
by friends) was increasing in the 20 years prior to her survey. This abuse is of great
concern because of its severity. Almost every incident involved penetration (as a result of the definition of abuse), and in only one incident was no force used.

Needless to say, this group also included some of the youngest perpetrators and oldest victims.
These cases represent the border between child sexual abuse and adult rape,
and the dynamics were often similar to date rape experienced on college campuses.
The categories in which the relationships were particularly violent, involving both
sexual and physical violence, were also very similar to adult battering relationships.
These cases allow us to recognize that child sexual abuse is on a continuum that, in a
very gray area, moves into adult rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence. The different types of this abuse, in order by prevalence, are discussed next.
Parking: The most prevalent type of abuse in this category occurred when victims
and their dates parked in cars or under similar circumstances. In a third of these cases,
perpetrators were significantly older than their victims. Many incidents in this and the following categories were petting situations that went further than the victims
wanted. The males forced themselves on their victims, sometimes pinning their hands behind their back or dragging them back into the car when they tried to
escape. In many of these cases the perpetrators acted entitled to the sex. Other males
raped their victims and then bragged about it at school, which led to further humiliation
and degradation of the girls.
Perpetrator’s house: A smaller number of victims, most of whom were within three years of age of the perpetrators, were raped when they went to the perpetrators’
houses. Often the reasons to visit seemed innocent to the victim, such as to eat lunch or to listen to records.
Husband: Another category of abuse of adolescents younger than the age of 18 is that by husbands. In this small category, relationships were very similar to battering
relationships with considerable sexual violence in addition to significant physical violence. In some cases the victims were significantly younger than the perpetrator.
Violent relationship: A few victims were in violent nonmarital relationships in
which abuse occurred on multiple occasions. These incidents were similar in dynamics
to battering relationships and often included the use of weapons and physical assault.
In all incidents the perpetrators were within three years of age of their victim.
Other: Other victims were raped in more diverse situations, including visiting
the victim while she was home alone, getting the victim drunk before raping her, attacking her at a friend’s house, at or before a party, or deceiving the victim to get
her alone. All were violent, and a few involved the purposeful ingestion of drugs or alcohol to render the victim unable to resist.