Gender, sexual orientation and victim blame regarding male victims of sexual assault

To the Editor: Although the long-term effects of sexual abuse of women by men have been studied extensively, there has been minimal research exploring the effects of sexual assault by men on other men. Until recently, very little attention has been paid to male victims of rape and sexual assault in adulthood; even less attention has been paid to male rape in the military. In fact, there are few studies on even the prevalence of sexual assaults of men in the US Army.1 Similar to female rape victims, adult male rape victims rarely turn to the legal, medical, or mental health systems for assistance. Personal stories of male rape mirror female rape in terms of a sense of shame, humiliation, and self-blame, but males are even less likely than females to report an assault. Four male veterans—all victims of male rape—recently presented to a Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinic, providing further insight into this seldom-studied phenomenon. A common theme emerging in treating male rape victims is a lost sense of manliness. Male victims voice their concern in reconciling their masculine identity with their experience of being raped. One patient reported that he never disclosed it to his wife of 30 years; the sense of stigma from the rape was felt as huge and devastating. The veterans treated in this VA outpatient setting all reported a preference for a female psychiatrist and difficulty in discussing rape with a male psychiatrist. It is possible that male rape victims experience more negative counter-transference reactions from male psychiatrists. Male psychiatrists may not be free of homophobic reaction, which further hinders patients from articulating the history of the abuse. None of the 4 victims examined disclosed his rape to any male psychiatrist by whom he was examined. One of the male victims was labeled as “malingering” in spite of 2 severe suicide attempts. The physician became frustrated by the perceived “secretiveness” of the patient and interpreted it as malingering. While patients dread the idea of disclosing the rape to a man and fear how telling would affect them, they also complained that no male psychiatrist had asked them about a possible abuse history. Treatment of rape victims should start with an exploration of our own beliefs about male rape. Training in this specific area is needed for psychiatric residents as well as for military personnel, the police, emergency department staff, nurses, and general practitioners. The research on sexual assault of women may not be appropriate for men who have been sexually assaulted. Applying research findings from female victims to male victims may lead to damaging behaviors that are harmful to male rape survivors following the assault and in the long term. Furthermore, it should be explored further if the gender of the listener has a role in the underreporting of male sexual violence. This can help identify the number of male victims of sexual assault, which may allow planning of appropriate clinical services and counseling strategies that may support recovery.

Until recently, very little attention has been paid to male victims of sexual abuse in childhood and male victims of rape and sexual assault in adulthood. Increasingly, researchers and clinicians are turning their attention to the particular problems encountered by male victims of abuse and sexual assault. Recent changes in British Law have acknowledged the existence of rape of male victims and have highlighted the need to identify the number of male victims of sexual assault and plan appropriate clinical services. A review of the literature reveals very little British empirical research on the psychological impact of rape upon male victims, although the studies that have been carried out provide clear evidence of a wide range of psychological consequences, both in the immediate period following the assault and in the long-term. Differences and similarities with female victims of rape are discussed. The particular problems encountered by male victims mean that they are even less likely than female victims to report an assault; when they do seek help the most pervasive themes that emerge from the literature concern their problems in reconciling their masculine identity with their experience of being a sexual victim. Issues concerning treatment of male victims are also discussed.

Male victims of sexual assault; 10 years' experience from a Danish Assault Center

Most researchers who have investigated attributions of blame toward victims in sexual-assault depictions have considered only female victims of male perpetrators. Few researchers have investigated the effects of perpetrator gender or victim sexual orientation on blame attributions toward male victims. The present authors investigated those two variables. Participants were 161 undergraduates at a British university in social science courses, each of whom read one scenario of a set in which perpetrator gender and victim sexual orientation were varied between subjects, and who completed a questionnaire measuring their blame toward the victim and the perpetrator. The present results showed that male participants blamed the victim more if a person of the gender that he was normally attacted to assaulted him. Male participants also regarded the female perpetrator in more favorable terms than they did the male perpetrator regardless of the victim's sexual orientation. The authors discussed the present results in relation to gender role stereotypes.

The ABCs of caring for sexual assault patients

Compared to female rape victims, the literature addressing male rape victims remains a growing area of interest for counselors and scholars. This article aims to review the growing literature on male sexual assault victims. Specifically, the review will examine the literature on male victims of sexual assault in nine sections: (a) an overview of male sexual assault, (b) male rape myths, (c) prevalence, (d) responses to male victimization, (e) populations and perpetrators of male victimization, (f) risk factors, (g) reporting, (h) the impact of sexual assault on men, (i) help-seeking, and (j) implications for counseling. Empirical studies, case reports, and books are included in the review.

Although men are far less likely than women to be victims of heterosexual assault, such cases have been reported with increasing frequency in recent years. We compared social judgments about male and female victims of heterosexual and homosexual rape and tested hypotheses concerning social cognitions that are assumed to underlie a male rape mythology. In a 2 × 2 × 2 design, 77 male and 89 female subjects made a series of judgments about a sexual assault case in which sex of victim and sex of assailants were manipulated. Consistent with the hypotheses, the male victim of sexual assault by females was judged more likely to have initiated or encouraged the sex acts, and more enjoyment and less stress were attributed to him. This pattern of results was more pronounced among male subjects. The results are discussed in relation to stereotypic beliefs concerning male sex roles, sexual motivation, and sexual functioning that are likely to affect the social cognitions of both observers and male victims of heterosexual assault.

Perceptions of male victims in depicted sexual assaults: A review of the literature

Male sexual assault victims: a selective review of the literature and implications for support services

Sexual assault of men by women has received increasing attention in recent years, as has research on rape myths about male victims. This study is a cross-generational replication of a 1984 study of college students' judgments about male and female victims in a scenario involving a sexual assault carried out by male or female assailants. The 1984 data (n = 172) were compared with those of a 2019 cohort (n = 372) in a 2 (participant gender) x 2 (assailant gender) x 2 (victim gender) x 2 (cohort) factorial design to assess potential generational changes in perceptions of victims. Judgments by male participants of male victims of assaults carried out by women changed notably over time. The 2019 male cohort was less likely to judge that the victim initiated or encouraged the incident (40% in 1984 compared with 15% in 2019) and derived pleasure from it (47.4% in 1984 compared with 5.8% in 2019). In contrast, the 2019 female cohort was more likely to attribute victim encouragement (26.9% compared with 4.3% in 1984) and pleasure to the male victim (25% in 2019 compared with 5% in 1984). A similar gender pattern occurred in judgments of how stressful the event was for the male victim. Analysis of the 2019 data revealed that overall, despite scientific and cultural shifts that have occurred over the past three decades, participants continued to judge the male victim of assault by a female to have been more encouraging and to have experienced more pleasure and less stress than in any other assailant/victim gender combination. Results are discussed in relation to gendered stereotypical beliefs and male rape myths, as well as possible sensitization to power differentials inspired by the #MeToo movement. We emphasize the need for greater awareness and empirical attention to abuse that runs counter to preconceived notions about sexual victimization.

In this study, attachment theory was applied to three samples: male university students (controls), male nonoffending victims of sexual assault, and convicted male pedophiles. Adult attachment styles are investigated along with developmental histories of neglect, punishment, and sexual and physical abuse. It is proposed that adult attachment styles will differ among the pedophiles and the other two groups, and the duration of participants’ adult sexual relationships would vary with the amount of sexual and other trauma that they reported experiencing as young people. If these were confirmed, it would indicate that attachment style was a significant factor in the developmental history of pedophiles and male victims of sexual assault. The results of this study indicated that the victims and controls experienced more security of attachment than the pedophiles, who were found to have an insecure attachment style. Victims and pedophiles were found to have experienced similar levels of early abuse and trauma.

Development of sexually abusive behaviour in sexually victimised males: a longitudinal study

Child sexual abuse: vicious circles of fate or paths to resilience?

PurposeWhile awareness of sexual assaults on college campuses has increased, the majority of efforts to address it are focused on female victims. The relative neglect of male victims may be due in part to problematic rape myths that suggest men cannot be sexually assaulted, especially by women. The purpose of this paper is to compare rates of different types of sexual assault between male and female undergraduates, and explore the relationship between acceptance of traditional rape myths focused on female victims, and rape myths surrounding male victims.Design/methodology/approachStudents at a mid-sized university in Pennsylvania (n=526) answered an online questionnaire about their own experiences of sexual assault since coming to college, as well as their endorsement of male and female rape myths.FindingsWhile women experienced more sexual assault overall, men were just as likely to have experienced rape (i.e. forced penetration) or attempted rape. Acceptance of male and female rape myths was significantly correlated and men were more likely than women to endorse both. Participants were also more likely to endorse female than male rape myths.Research limitations/implicationsBy analyzing sexual assaults in terms of distinct behaviors instead of one composite score, the authors can get a more nuanced picture of how men and women experience assault.Practical implicationsCampus-based efforts to address sexual assault need to be aware that male students also experience assault and that myths surrounding men as victims may impede their ability to access services.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to our knowledge of a relatively understudied topic: undergraduate male victims of sexual assault.

The purposes of this study were (a) to examine a new model of the relations between attributions and long-term recovery among rape survivors and (b) to test the applicability of this model to other life events that differ in terms of controllability (i.e., bereavement and relationship loss). Among rape survivors, both behavioral and characterological self-blame were associated with poorer recovery, as was more often thinking about why the rape occurred; the belief that future assaults are less likely was associated with better recovery; and beliefs about past control were unrelated to beliefs about future control. Self-blame was associated with poorer recovery and perceptions of past and future control were unrelated for both bereavement and relationship loss