Rape occurs when one individual forces another into sexual intercourse against his or her will. Other instances in which one of the individuals participates in sexual acts without fully consenting to them (e.g., unwanted kissing) are encompassed within the more general term sexual coercion. Males are much more frequently than females the perpetrators of rape and sexual coercion, not only in humans but also in nonhuman animals. In a recent review of research literature, the researchers could not find one animal species (other than human beings) where females actually force sex on males.

Although there are differences among studies, partly depending on how questions are asked and who the participants are, survey data on average indicate that almost half of all college women have experienced at ...