The perpetrator's strategy as a crucial variable: a representative study of sexual abuse of girls and its sequelae in Switzerland.

Objective: Little is known about the long-term consequences of "soft" perpetrator strategies. The purpose of the present study is to assess the consequences of love-bargaining strategies compared to those involving force.

Method: A representative sample of 980 women, aged 20 to 40 years, in the German-speaking part of Switzerland was asked questions regarding psychosomatic well-being, sexual actions, and perpetrator strategies, as well as motivations for tolerating long periods of abuse.