Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now commonly criminalized and has been subject to more discussion than in the past.
Males are far less likely to report sexual abuse than females. Rape of males is still considered a taboo subject in society and male victims tend to deny their victimization.Deborah Condon. April 4th 2014. Irish Health. Male rape 'still a taboo subject' . Comments of Dr Maeve Eogan and Deirdra Richardson in Modern Medicine, the Irish Journal of Clinical Medicine. Community and service providers often react differently to male victims based on their sexual orientation and the gender of their perpetrators.Davies, 2002
It may be difficult for male victims to report a sexual assault they experienced, especially in a society with a strong masculine custom. They might be afraid that people will doubt their sexual orientation and label them homosexual, especially if raped by a male, or that they may be seen as un-masculine because they were a victim, and therefore many statistics underestimate how many males are raped due to their unwillingness to report sexual assault and rape.Turchik and Edwards Myths About Male Rape: A Literature Review, 2011 Most of the time, male victims try to hide and deny their victimization, similar to female victims, unless they have serious physical injuries. Eventually, the male victims may be very vague in explaining their injuries when they are seeking medical or mental health services.
Research and statistics General
Research about male-victim rape had only just begun to appear by 1980, focusing mostly on male children. The studies of sexual assault in correctional facilities focusing specifically on the consequences of this kind of rape were available in the early 1980s, but nothing was available during the previous years. Most of the literature regarding rape and sexual assault focuses on female victims.Richard Tewksbury. Department of Justice Administration, University of Louisville. Effects on Sexual Assaults on Men: Physical, Mental and Sexual Consequences. International Journal of Men's Health, Vol 6, No 1, Spring 2007.
Only recently have some other forms of sexual violence against men been considered. In the 2010–2012 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey in Atlanta, Georgia (and a prior edition of this study completed in 2010), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) measured a category of sexual violence called "being made to penetrate" which captures instances in which victims were forced to or attempt to sexually penetrate someone (of either sex), either by physical force or coercion, or when the victim was intoxicated or otherwise unable to consent. The CDC found in the 2012 data that 1.715 million (up from 1.267 million in 2010) reported being "made to penetrate" another person in the preceding 12 months, similar to the 1.473 million (2010: 1.270 million) women who reported being raped in the same time period. The definitions of rape and "made to penetrate" in the CDC study were worded with extremely similar language.
Male-on-male rape
Male-on-male rape has been heavily stigmatized. According to psychologist Sarah Crome, fewer than 1 in 10 male-on-male rapes are reported. As a group, male rape victims reported a lack of services and support, and legal systems are often ill-equipped to deal with this type of crime. In the United Kingdom, epidemiological studies have suggested that the rate of male rape is higher in gay and college communities.
Several studies argue that male-on-male prisoner rape, as well as female-on-female prisoner rape, are common types of rape which go unreported even more frequently than rape in the general population.Human Rights Watch No Escape: Male Rape In U.S. Prisons. Part VII. Anomaly or Epidemic: The Incidence of Prisoner-on-Prisoner Rape.; estimates that 100,000–140,000 violent male-male rapes occur in U.S. prisons annually; compare with FBI statistics that estimated 90,000 violent male-female rapes occur annually.Robert W. Dumond, "Ignominious Victims: Effective Treatment of Male Sexual Assault in Prison," August 15, 1995, p. 2; states that "evidence suggests that [male-male sexual assault in prison] may a staggering problem"). Quoted in ; reports that "Greater percentages of men (70%) than women (29%) reported that their incident resulted in oral, vaginal, or anal sex. More men (54%) than women (28%) reported an incident that was classified as rape." The rape of men by men has been documented as a weapon of terror in warfare (see also War rape). In the case of the Syrian Civil War (2011–2024), the male detainees experienced sexual abuse such as being forced to sit on a broken glass bottle, getting their genitals tied to a heavy bag of water, or being forced to watch the rape of another detainee by the officials.Amnesty International. 2012. "'I Wanted to Die': Syria's torture survivors speak out" . London
Female-on-male rape Female-on-male rape is under-researched compared to other forms of sexual violence. Statistics on the prevalence of female-on-male sexual violence, and its psychological effects are inconsistent across studies. One study (Hannon et al.) found 23.4% of women and 10.5% of men reported they were raped, while 6.6% of women and 10.5% of men reported they were victims of attempted rape. A 2016/2017 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 1 in 9 men (10.7%) reported being made to penetrate at some point in their lives (up from 4.8% in 2010). The surveys also found that male victims often reported only female perpetrators in instances of being made to penetrate (2016/17: 69.6%, 2010: 79.2%), sexual coercion (2016/17: 71.7%, 2010: 83.6%), and unwanted sexual contact (2016/17: 47.5%, 2010: 53.1%). Among male victims who were raped by being penetrated, 76.8% reported only male perpetrators (down from 93.3% in the previous study published in 2010). A 2008 study of 98 men interviewed on the United States National Crime Victimization Survey found that nearly half of the men (46%) who reported some form of sexual victimization were victimized by women.
Regarding female-on-male sexual misconduct, the US Dept. of Justice reports in its opening statement (page 5): "An estimated 4.4% of prison inmates and 3.1% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility, if less than 12 months." Regarding female-on-male sexual misconduct (page 25) it states: "Among the 39,121 male prison inmates who had been victims of staff sexual misconduct, 69% reported sexual activity with female staff; an additional 16% reported sexual activity with both female and male staff (table 18)." and "Nearly two-thirds of the male jail inmates who had been victimized said the staff perpetrator was female (64%)."
Male victims of sexual abuse by females often face social, political, and legal double standards. One case involved James Landrith, who was raped by being forced to penetrate a female acquaintance in a hotel room while incapacitated from drinking, while his rapist cited the fact that she was pregnant to advise him not to struggle, as it might hurt the baby.
Several widely publicized cases of female-on-male statutory rape in the United States involved school teachers having illegal sex with their underage students (see Mary Kay Letourneau and Debra Lafave). There have also been cases where an underage male who was a victim of statutory rape, was ordered by a judge to pay child support after the woman became pregnant (see Hermesmann v. Seyer).
Myths regarding male victims of rape
Males are not vulnerable By masculine gender socialization, it is thought that males, even younger males, cannot be victims of rape, nor even that they are vulnerable. In some societies, it is considered shameful and unmanly if a male child cries, because the male stereotype depicts males as being able to protect themselves, which may not always be the case.Hidden Hurt. 2011. Male Victims of Domestic Violence .Male Survivor.Male Sexual Victimization Myths & Facts . Young boys may be weaker and vulnerable to perpetrators, who are usually stronger. The perpetrators can use whatever they have to abuse the child, including money or other bribes. An adult male may also be helpless to fight back, or fearful of doing so.
Males always want sex A common societal belief is that a male must be aroused if he gets an erection or has an orgasm, therefore that means that he is willing to have sex. Roy J. Levin and Willy Van Berlo wrote in an article in the Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine that slight genital stimulation or stress can create erections "even though no specific sexual stimulation is present". An erection does not mean that the male consents to sex. Males can get erections even in traumatic or painful sexual situations, and this does not indicate consent.
Much like female erectile response, male erectile response is involuntary, meaning that a man does not need to be aroused for his penis to become erect; mechanical stimulation is all that is necessary. Arousal and stimulation are distinct things. Stimulation is a physical response to a stimulus. Men can be physically stimulated without feeling aroused and thus causing an erection. Men can be scared and intimidated into an erection, especially if the person is older or has an authority.
Traumatization One notion is that males are less traumatized by the abuse experience than females are; this includes the belief that males are less negatively affected.For example, Mumbai Advocate Flavia Agnes said, "The consequences of rape for a woman are far-reaching. She has to battle social stigma, social mindset. While fixing marriages, nobody asks a man if he is a virgin." ("Activists oppose making rape gender-neutral". The Times of India, July 20, 2012.) Studies show that the long-term effects are damaging for either sex and males may especially be more damaged by social stigma and disbelief of their victimization. It is noted by Eogan and Richardson that male victims tend to feel more intense anger than female victims, while both go through similar feelings of distress after the rape. Frazier (1993) Cited from Jai Vipra. July 2013. CCS working Paper #286, A Case for Gender-Neutral Rape Laws in India. studied 74 male and 1,380 female rape victims. She found that the depression and hostility are more profound on male victims immediately post-rape than on female victims.
Trauma recovery counselor Stephanie Baird says men who experience sexual attention as children often explain it to themselves as "I'm a stud, I got laid by ...". Baird explains that they do this in order to feel as if they had some power and say. Carpenter (2009, citing Mezey, 1987)Carpenter, Simon. 2009. The Psychological Effects of Male Rape. Counselling Directory. Cited from Jai Vipra. July 2013. CCS working Paper #286, A Case for Gender-Neutral Rape Laws in India. finds that the "male coping strategy characterized by denial and control renders them more prone to later psychiatric problems and reduces the likelihood of seeking help".
Sexual orientation
Henry Leak, the chairman of the Survivors organization, stated that rape of males, as with females, has more to do with power than sexuality, and does not only happen inside the homosexual community.Kathy Marks. 15 October 1992. The Independent, Man abducted from train and raped. Sexual orientation is a complex issue, and the majority of male perpetrators who seek out boys are not homosexual.