Male Victims of Sexual Assault

Although men suffer as much as women from the violence and humiliation of the abuse, there has been little formal debate on the prevalence, characteristics, and sequelae of male sexual assault. This book brings together existing data, theory, and implications for future research and policy.

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In discussions on sexual assault, men are usually portrayed as the perpetrators; it is rarely appreciated that men are themselves often victims of sexual abuse. Reasons for this misconception include: the male stereotype as physically strong and sexually dominant; the erroneous belief that assaults are motivated by sexual need rather than by aggression; and English law's less serious attitude towards sexual assualts on men than towards those on women. Although male victims feel that the violence and humiliation suffered during a sexual attack threatens their personal and physical integrity, in much the same way as women feel, there are also differences in their experience of the assault and in their response to it. However, there has been relatively little formal debate on the prevalence, characteristics, and sequelae of male sexual assault.
"Male victims of Sexual Assault" opens the debate with reports from international experts in the field, including chapters on: homophobia and the cultural and historical background and attitudes to male sexual assault; sexual assault of male children and adolescents and of men in institutional settings; the trauma suffered by survivors of male rape and by men as co-survivors of female rape; and the treatment and legal recourse available to victims. The book brings together existing data, theoretical perspectives, and implications for future practice and policy.