Evidence suggests that South Asian adolescents delay premarital sexual debut and engage in lower rates of sexual intercourse in adolescence compared to their Euro-American, African-American and Hispanic-American counterparts. Due to this belief, they are seen as a low risk population and therefore understudied. However, sexual coercion by intimate partners in the form of threat of exposure of premarital sexual activities, forced sexual activities and threat of separation and abandonment from both marital and dating partners upon refusal of sex, has been documented in prior research with this population. In this critical ethnography, a sample of 20 South Asian women (22-34 years) participated in in-depth individual interviews. Inquiries include questions about manifestations of beliefs and behaviors embodying agency in relation to partnering and sexuality. Analysis of this qualitative data revealed the intricate links between young women's demonstrated agency in the context of partnering and sexuality and their perceptions of cultural discourses and socialization processes within their families. Participants' mothers' interactions and socialization practices emerged as central to their narratives of agency and mothers interacted with their daughters in culturally specific ways. This study has implications for the development of sexual assault prevention programs for South Asian families and potential applications to task-shifting models of public health programming.
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