28% of women still feel pressured to have sex

BarcelonaAlmost three out of ten women (28%) have at some point been forced by their partners to engage in sexual practices they did not want, a percentage much higher than the 12.8% of men who report having felt forced in the same circumstances. This is data from the second Sexual Health Survey, conducted by the Ministry of Health and the Sociological Research Centre (CIS), which shows that in the 15 years since the previous edition, the Spanish population is more sensitive to sexual diversity and the assumption of consent in sexual relations.

In these three decades, Spanish society has advanced in sexual respect and tolerance. This is demonstrated by the fact that almost 90% of respondents equate forcing a partner to rape. However, there is still a considerable percentage who state that if a relationship is accepted, it must be seen through to the end and one cannot stop the other. There is also a considerable difference between genders in this question: more than half of men compared to a third of women. In this regard, almost 30% of men say that some people need to be insisted upon to have relations, without identifying it as a coercive attitude. Among those surveyed, the percentage is 20%.

The survey also notes that 12% of women admit that at some point they have pressured to have sexual relations, but this is still a lower percentage compared to 28% of men.

In favor of sex education at school

Compared to the 2008 survey, this year's results confirm that there is more respect for diversity and sexual orientation, to the point that the number of respondents who consider a same-sex relationship as respectable as a heterosexual one has doubled, as it has gone from 40% acceptance in 2008 to the current 80%. In this regard, women are more tolerant (82%) than men (75%), following the usual trend.

At the presentation of the results, the Minister of Health, Mónica García, stressed that the data show that Spain is "a more open and respectful society". Furthermore, 90% of the population says they agree that sex education should be present in compulsory education, a view that García said goes against the imposition of "parental pins" that had been proposed by regional governments of the PP and Vox.

The survey also scores very high on the sexual satisfaction of Spaniards, although since the last study it has dropped by 9 points, from 86% to 77%. This trend is accentuated with age, falling to 51.3% among those over 75 years of age. Regarding the frequency of contact, the average is once a week, with similar percentages between men (24%) and women (22%). However, at the extremes, less than 4% say they have sex daily, and 28% of women have not had sex in the last year, compared to 17.5% of men.

In the last 12 months, 90% of women have had sex with the same partner, a percentage that drops to 76% in the case of men. This monogamy justifies for respondents the low use of condoms, especially in heterosexual vaginal and anal intercourse. In the case of homosexual couples, condoms are present in 40% of sexual acts.

Differences in pornography consumption

In pornography and consumption of prostitution there are few surprises. 28% of men admit that at some point in their lives they have paid for relations with men or women, and a residual 0.3% of women have done so.

According to the survey, pornography consumption is more frequent among people aged 25 to 34 years, where it exceeds 60%. By sex, three-quarters of women claim to have never searched for any pornographic content, compared to 27% of men, who are the ones who consume it most habitually by far: 25% do so weekly, compared to 2% of women.