There are few issues more deplorable than sexual violence. There are few issues more in need of urgent intervention, of policy reform, and of cultural change. So, with that in mind, there are few issues more deserving of solid, well-executed research, than sexual violence too. And yet, sadly, so often, researchers fall woefully short of this bar. As you will have seen plastered across your social media feed, a new study has found 95.1% (!!) of men have admitted to using at least one ‘strategy’ to force a woman to have sex with him. It is, to put it at its mildest, an alarming, headline-grabbing claim that has circumnavigated the online world several times, to huge public outrage, and condemnation. But – as always – few people look beyond the headline, to examine the shoddy and misleading approach that created it. Don’t get me wrong – This particular survey certainly did capture some worthwhile (and shocking) data that exposed the high prevalence of sexual violence and coercion – by asking men about their use of intimidation, of weapons, of drugs, and physical strength. And then it obfuscated this data amongst a wide variety of ‘strategies’ that could quite easily be acts of innocuous dating: flirtation and flattery. ‘Did you approach a stranger?’ ‘Did you use friends?’ ‘Did you tell her what she wanted to hear?’ ‘Did you use your status, money or age?’ Well, if you answered “yes” to any of these when on a date, then you risk being categorized as a sexual predator. This is not right. This is not fair. This is not good science. And victims of sexual violence deserve so much more. What do you think? ~ Full study here https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08862605261432630

2026-08-03