Gender asymmetries in professionals' views on adolescent sex and drug use

Sammanfattning: The overarching aim of this study was to examine female social workers’ (ie. drug counselors’ and members of treatment staff’s) perception of the sexuality of girls and boys. The results indicate that the IPs define female high risk sexual behavior differently than male high-risk sexual behavior. For females, the mere act of having sex with multiple men in combination with drug use was considered problematic, while for males, the question was whether he was having protected sex. A history of CSA was considered to affect the sexuality of both the female and male vignette characters, but in different ways: the male character was seen to punish himself through multiple sexual partners while the female was seen to be unable to make informed sexual decisions or even to enjoy sex. Finally, the concept of sexual exploitation was analyzed and found to be inconsistently used not only by the IPs, but also in the research literature. In the discussion, it is stressed that social services and treatment personnel need to be clear about what they mean by sexual exploitation of girls. Paying undue attention to a girl’s sex life will not help her in any significant way. Instead, social workers should help girls use their gifts and strengths to express their innermost being, helping them find their voice.