What is Sexually Coercive Behavior?
Sexual coercion is a form of sexual harassment that is now recognized throughout the country. The idea that yes does not necessarily mean yes has gained enough traction that some states, are considering laws that differentiate between consent and non-consent, in situations where the victim has said, “yes”.
Sexual coercion is using guilt, verbal tricks, or some kind of known victim weakness to get the victim to say “yes” to sex when they do not want to. The more that people can recognize coercive sexual behavior, the easier it will be to stop this kind of harassment.
Preying On A Victim’s Weakness
If an aggressor knows that it can be easy to use their relationship to guilt a victim into sex, then the aggressor will exploit that weakness. Sometimes an aggressor will try to wear a victim down until they concede out of pure frustration, or the aggressor may be more precise in their attacks and will prey on obvious weaknesses.
Taking Advantage Of Status
Sometimes sexual coercion can be as direct as a supervisor telling a subordinate that they better have sex or the subordinate will lose their job. In other cases, a supervisor will try to convince a victim that having sex is the way that promotions and raises have always been earned. Either way, someone who uses their status as a superior to convince a victim to have sex is displaying sexually coercive behavior.
Guilt
Generally, sexual coercion involves an aggressor tricking a victim into believing that having sex is the right solution to a situation. For example, after a date is over, an aggressor might insist that the victim have sex based on how much the aggressor spent on the date, or after a significant work “bonus”. A person who is good at manipulating others can control those events that amount to sexual conversion.
Wearing The Victim Down
An aggressor who is constantly trying to convince a victim that they should be having sex is displaying a form of sexual coercion. Even a strong-willed victim may feel violated when they are constantly exposed to an aggressor’s sexual advances.
We have years of experience in helping the victims of sexually coercive behavior. We encourage you to contact one of our experienced and compassionate sexual harassment attorneys to determine your legal options and discuss how to make things right and ensure future safety and respect in your school or workplace.