Journal of Interpersonal Violence (JIV)Isolate, Inebriate, Intimidate, Repeat: High Rates of Sexual Force Against Women Are Reported When Young Men Given Anonymous Surveys

🧠 Mental Health / Behavioral Sensitivity

An anonymous online survey of 2,689 men aged 18-34 across the US and Canada found 95% reported using at least one strategy to force sex with a nonconsenting woman they had no prior relationship with. Self-reported success occurred in roughly two-thirds of attempts.

Clinical Considerations

• Verbal pressure and persistent coercion dominated; overt physical force was less common but reported by roughly 10% of respondents
• Men who rated themselves “better than peers” at obtaining sex reported significantly higher use of forceful and coercive strategies
• Peer involvement — including female peers — was reported as facilitating these encounters in mixed-sex social contexts
• Anonymous methodology may help close the documented gap between women’s reports of forced sex and men’s reports of perpetration

Practice Applications

• Recognize that perpetration is likely substantially underreported in conventional clinical and research settings
• Consider trauma-informed screening practices given high underlying prevalence of unreported assault
• Interpret self-reported rates as hypothesis-generating rather than clinically validated estimates
• Avoid relying on conventional perpetration prevalence figures when counseling patients about assault risk

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