Forced Sex and STDs Among a National Probability Sample of Men Aged 18-44 Years

Background:
Few published studies have focused on males as victims of sexual violence at the national level.

Objective:
(1) estimating the proportion of men who have been forced to have sex against their will (forced sex); (2) identifying risk factors related to forced sex; and (3) estimating the association between recent STDs and history of forced sex.

Method:
Data used comes from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, a nationally representative sample of 4900 men. Men who have had forced sex were characterized by the survey questions “At any time in your life, have you ever been forced by a male/female to have oral or anal sex/vaginal intercourse against your will?” Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine the association among recent STDs, forced sex, risk factors, and social-demographical factors.

Result:
Of 4247 male participants aged 18-44 years, 2.0% (standard error= 0.2%, n=122) reported having had forced sex by males, and 5.8% (SE=0.6%, n=316) by females. Combined, they accounted for a 7.6% (SE=0.7, n=416) national prevalence. Multivariate analysis showed that men aged 18-44 years were more likely to report having had forced sex if they were self-identified as homosexual or bisexual, frequently drank (once a day or more), lived under the poverty level, and had a mother with no high school diploma. Forced sex by males occurred at much earlier age (mean age=11.3) than by females (mean age=17.7). Men were significantly more likely to report physical harm during forced sex by males than by females (20.7% vs. 5.5%). Men were 4 times more likely to report recent STDs if they had a history of forced sex.

Conclusion:
Although a history of forced sex affects a small proportion of men population, it is an important public health issue.

Implications:
STD interventions should be tailored to include a component to address sexual victimization of men.