Differences by Gender and Relationship Characteristics
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, March 2009

By Emily Bridges, Director, Public Information Services

Because sexual negotiations within young adult couples have consequences for sexual and reproductive health, it is important to determine associations between relationship contexts and sexual insistence. Researchers conducted analyses on data from 4,469 young adults participating in Wave 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (2001–2002) and found that seven percent of men and 8 percent of women had unwanted sex at their partner's insistence. A significantly greater proportion of women than of men (12 percent vs. 3 percent) had engaged repeatedly in sexual activities they disliked, primarily fellatio and anal sex. Relationship characteristics were associated with sexual insistence, but gender was not. For example, female respondents who reported unreciprocated love for their partner had higher odds of reporting sexual insistence perpetration than those who reported that they and their partner loved each other (odds ratio, 3.9).

By Emily Bridges, Director, Public Information Services

A report from the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) found that students who identify as transgender face grave difficulties and even danger in school.  Nearly nine out of ten students reported having been called names or threatened on the basis of sexual orientation or gender expression; over half had been pushed, shoved, or physically harassed; and almost 30 percent were physically assaulted (punched, kicked, or injured with a weapon).

By Emily Bridges, Director, Public Information Services

District of Columbia’s HIV Epidemic Severe
Three percent of District of Columbia residents are known to be living with HIV/AIDS, and   The epidemic is most severe among adults ages 40-49, with 7.2 percent infected ; among youth ages 20-29, 1.1% are infected.  DC’s rates are higher than West Africa and on par with Uganda. Social networks are a major driver of the epidemic; mean having sex with men was the primary transmission mode for whites while heterosexual sex was the primary transmission mode for African Americans.  A companion report on HIV and heterosexuals explored factors which drive and intersect with the HIV epidemic, including poverty, lack of access to health care, concurrent sexual partners,  and unreliable condom use.