Sexual Vulnerability as a Strategic Tool for Domestic and International Actors
Sexual vulnerability refers to an individual's susceptibility to being coerced into having unwanted sexual encounters. It is often associated with power imbalances between individuals who hold positions of authority, such as employers, teachers, parents, and politicians, and those they have power over, like students, employees, children, and citizens. Sexual vulnerability can be exploited by domestic and international actors alike to achieve strategic goals through various means. In this article, I will discuss how both groups leverage sexual vulnerability to gain advantages.
Domestic actors can utilize sexual vulnerability as a tool to manipulate and control others within their immediate sphere of influence. This can include using sex as a form of blackmail, intimidation, or punishment to ensure compliance with demands or to extract concessions from others.
A teacher may threaten to fail a student if they do not engage in sexual acts. The threat of being fired due to allegations of sexual harassment may also induce someone to consent to unwanted advances. Parents may pressure their children to maintain a good reputation by forcing them into sexual relationships against their wishes.
International actors can use sexual vulnerability to exert political, economic, or military force.
Governments can use it to advance national interests by pressuring other countries into doing what they want. A country may leverage its influence on another state to obtain access to natural resources, trade deals, or territorial gains. In the context of warfare, sexual violence has been used as a weapon of psychological terrorism and genocide. Rape and other forms of abuse are often employed to disrupt and destabilize communities.
Sexual vulnerability is a valuable resource that can be leveraged for strategic advantage. Domestic actors use it to coerce individuals into submission, while international actors employ it to further their political agendas. Both groups rely on power imbalances and exploit fears surrounding sex and intimacy.
Understanding this phenomenon is essential to addressing underlying issues such as gender inequality and ensuring justice and equality for all.
How can sexual vulnerability be leveraged as a strategic tool by both domestic and international actors?
The researcher suggests that sexual vulnerability can be used as a strategic tool by both domestic and international actors through various means, such as exploitation of power imbalances and manipulation of social norms. The idea of "vulnerability" is a complex one, with different meanings depending on the context. In general, it refers to an individual's susceptibility to harm, whether physical, emotional, economic, or otherwise.