Sexual aggression high among Indian youth, finds research
Ekatha Ann
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25% Of Men Surveyed Said They Engaged In Sexual Violence At Some Point
He watches his father lash out at his mother, his catcalls as a teen are rarely discouraged and the intoxicants in his blood give him a sense of courage.Every rapist has a story that led him to commit the crime.India has taken the ignominious lead of having the highest percentage of factors that shape boys into sexual predators, a study has found.The study, done by International Centre for Research on Women in collaboration with two other organisations, found that close to 25% of the men surveyed in India said they had engaged in sexual violence at some point, most of them against their partner.India is far ahead of countries like Rwanda, Mexico, Croatia and Chile, which were included in the study . In India, Delhi and Vijayawada were chosen as study sites.
In an effort to study the possible influence on perpetration of sexual violence, around 2,000 men in 18-59 age group were asked a series of questions that address different forms of rape -marital rape, gangrape and rape of a woman under the influence of alcohol. The survey also explored a range of issues: child abuse, relationship dynamics, gender equality and exposure to violence. It found that sexual aggression was high among Indian youth, while alcohol abuse was cited as the second leading influencing factor.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, more than 90 women are raped in India every day. The study found that men who experienced neglect or were abused as children tend to be more sexually aggressive than others. Among Indian men, 34% of those who were sexually abused in childhood report sexual violence per petration. And 36.8% said they felt neglected. “It is common knowledge that a child needs care and protection, and when deprived of that they have developmental delay. Aggression levels are also high in this group,“ said Anuradha Vidyasankar, head, southern regional resource centre, Childline India Foundation.She said witnessing violence also has a strong impact on children.
“A child is not born with prejudices, attitudes and be liefs. He learns from what he sees, and if he sees his father being violent with his mother, he begins to believe that is a way of life,“ said Anuradha.
Along with Chile, the incidence of men raping under the influence of alcohol was on the higher side in India. Dr Shanthi Ranganathan of TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation, who has worked for more than four decades treating alcoholism and drug dependency explained, “In the Nirbhaya case, all the rapists were drunk. Alcohol gives people a false sense of courage and they don't really think of the consequences.“
She added, “Their sense of right and wrong is blurred and they act on what they have seen and learned sex can be used as a weapon against women.“
The data collected does not support the notion that perpetration of rape is significantly related to education level, em ployment status, age or marital status. In India, husbands and fathers are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence.
Nearly half of the sampled Indian men who have physically abused a partner also perpetrate sexual violence. Rwanda showed a higher percentage of physical violence at 39% than India (37.3%).
Men who pay for sex are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence, a trend the survey saw in all five countries. India, again, had the highest percentage of such people at 36.5%.
In an effort to study the possible influence on perpetration of sexual violence, around 2,000 men in 18-59 age group were asked a series of questions that address different forms of rape -marital rape, gangrape and rape of a woman under the influence of alcohol. The survey also explored a range of issues: child abuse, relationship dynamics, gender equality and exposure to violence. It found that sexual aggression was high among Indian youth, while alcohol abuse was cited as the second leading influencing factor.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, more than 90 women are raped in India every day. The study found that men who experienced neglect or were abused as children tend to be more sexually aggressive than others. Among Indian men, 34% of those who were sexually abused in childhood report sexual violence per petration. And 36.8% said they felt neglected. “It is common knowledge that a child needs care and protection, and when deprived of that they have developmental delay. Aggression levels are also high in this group,“ said Anuradha Vidyasankar, head, southern regional resource centre, Childline India Foundation.She said witnessing violence also has a strong impact on children.
“A child is not born with prejudices, attitudes and be liefs. He learns from what he sees, and if he sees his father being violent with his mother, he begins to believe that is a way of life,“ said Anuradha.
Along with Chile, the incidence of men raping under the influence of alcohol was on the higher side in India. Dr Shanthi Ranganathan of TT Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation, who has worked for more than four decades treating alcoholism and drug dependency explained, “In the Nirbhaya case, all the rapists were drunk. Alcohol gives people a false sense of courage and they don't really think of the consequences.“
She added, “Their sense of right and wrong is blurred and they act on what they have seen and learned sex can be used as a weapon against women.“
The data collected does not support the notion that perpetration of rape is significantly related to education level, em ployment status, age or marital status. In India, husbands and fathers are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence.
Nearly half of the sampled Indian men who have physically abused a partner also perpetrate sexual violence. Rwanda showed a higher percentage of physical violence at 39% than India (37.3%).
Men who pay for sex are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence, a trend the survey saw in all five countries. India, again, had the highest percentage of such people at 36.5%.
Source: Times of India, 30-10-2015
