Knowing these five sad facts could improve your whole life. The reliable source for these facts is listed in a link at the end.

What if a 17-year-old girl and a charming 21-year-old man want to spend lots of time together?

It would be so much better if they both knew five important things: Even if you are not this age, knowing these five facts might help you resolve long standing inner turmoil.

1. It’s very likely that just over 6% of American women are forced or coerced into their first sexual encounter. If you think this coercion is not rape, you should read on.
2. There are multiple adverse health outcomes, including depression, associated with experiencing this… some severe. It may seem obvious, but knowing this can help you. The study (link below) gives reliable scientific evidence.
3. Verbal pressure, consuming alcohol (or a drug), and the threat to end the relationship may each seem a matter of individual choice for people in these two age groups. But look carefully at the facts you need to know about consent and it will be clear that they cross the line, especially when multiple pressures occur together.
4. Having a forced or coerced first sexual encounter was reported by women of all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Rates are skewed in ways you would expect for these factors, but people in EVERY category experienced this tragedy. Everyone thinks (or thought) it won’t happen to them, but knowing provides options that denying takes away.
5. The September 2019 published study shows, on average, that in coerced first sexual encounters, women were 15 years old (age 17 for consenting encounters). For women who had been coerced, their male partners averaged 27 years old (21 years old in consenting encounters).

Whether you or a loved one is in these age categories or not, it’s not hard to extrapolate for younger females, older males, and visa versa. It is so important to understand all the elements of consent. Please be the one who knows instead of the one in denial.

Pastor Mike Krewson

Read the article on The Tribune: “One in 16 American women forced into first sexual encounter: Study”