Kevin and Rachel met at a mixer and it seemed like they really hit it off. They danced, had a few drinks, and exchanged more than a few “meaningful” looks.

When Kevin suggested they leave to get a bite to eat, Rachel readily accepted. They got in his car, started to kiss, and it began to get hot and heavy.

As the touching grew more intimate, Rachel knew they had to stop soon.

She really liked Kevin, but she hardly knew him. Rachel stopped and said, “Kevin, I really like you, but I don’t want to go any further tonight.”

Kevin was shocked. He thought, “She doesn’t really mean it. She’s enjoying this as much as I am.”

Kevin continued kissing Rachel and pressing his body against hers. Rachel knew what he wanted.

After struggling for several minutes and repeatedly telling him to stop, Rachel finally gave in. They had intercourse. There was no discussion afterwards.

As soon as possible, Rachel got out of his car and went home, feeling used, sick and humiliated. Kevin drove home even more confused about women.

This scenario is an example of coercive sexual behavior. Whether prosecutable as sexual assault or not, this behavior, as well as other types of coercive sexual acts that do not culminate in intercourse, represents a common occurrence on the college campus.

There has been more attention focused on the issues of rape and sexual assaults at NIU in the last few years. During the 1989 school year, 29 sexual assaults were reported, according to the Sexual Assault Task Force.

The important health issue here is unacceptable sexually aggressive behavior normally directed at women by men. People’s perception of what is rape and what is not rape is unclear.

The following studies with college students help document the problem:

In a survey of more than 3,800 college students, 70.5 percent of the women said they had a man misinterpret the degree of sexual intimacy they desired; 21.4 percent said they had sexual intercourse with a man when they did not feel like it because of being continually pressured by his arguments; 30 percent said they had a man use some degree of physical force to try to get them to kiss or pet when they did not feel like it; 8.2 percent said they had sexual intercourse when they did not feel like it because the man used some degree of physical force; and 6 percent said they had been raped.

In a 1985 survey of 7,000 college students from 35 campuses nationwide, Mary P. Koss, a psychology professor at Kent State University found more than 8 percent of the men admitted to having fulfilled the prevailing definition of rape or attempted rape, yet none identified themselves as a rapist.

Almost 75 percent of the women who were raped did not identify their experience as rape.

In another study at Washington State, students stated certain conditions such as, “if she led him on,” “if they had been dating a long time,” “if she let him fondle her,” “if she wasn’t a virgin,” might make it acceptable for a man to force sex on his companion.

Next week’s column will offer specific suggestions for men and women to reduce their risk of becoming involved in coercive sexual behavior.