General Article 40% of teenage girls pressured into having sex

Topic Selected: Sexual Health
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Physical violence and abuse also a factor in 20% of relationships, new research finds.

Research published today reveals that more than four in ten teenage schoolgirls in England* have experienced sexual coercion. Most were pressured to have sex or other sexual activity, but some cases included rape.

Controlling online behaviour by partners, through constant checking of their social network activity, sending threatening messages or telling them who they could be ‘friends’ with was closely associated with young people experiencing violence or abuse from their partner offline.

Pornography influencing teen attitudes to sex and relationships

The researchers found that a high proportion of teenage boys regularly viewed pornography and one in five harboured extremely negative attitudes towards women.

Almost four in ten (39%) boys in England aged 14–17 admitted they regularly watched pornography and around one-fifth (18%) strongly agreed with statements such as:

  • “It is sometimes acceptable...

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