Monday, November 14, 2016
Blog #6 Visual
This graphic illustrates the findings of the 2010 NIPSV Survey, which are pretty shocking. When I first started researching this topic, I really had no idea that the numbers were that drastic, because many of the statistics thrown around regarding male victims don't include different forms of sexual assault, which are the types which make up the bulk of the numbers for males. This underscores how urgent the issue really is and how shocking that this is so under researched and underreported,
Blog #7 Research Post
The focus of my paper revolves around the terms "perfect victim", "real rape", "rape myths". I am writing about how these related concepts, which are embedded within our cultural view, stigmatize rape and create an environment where rape and assault victims are more likely to self-blame and minimize their assault, and therefore unlikely to report their assault to the authorities. In this environment, rapists (many of whom are repeat offenders) can continue to assault people unpunished while their victims stay quiet for fear of negative judgement. Male victims are particularly affected by rape myths, as male rape and sexual assault is an issue which is largely ignored, erased, and highly stigmatized. Many people don't even believe that a man can be sexually assaulted, and gay or bisexual male assault victims are often even further marginalized and stigmatized. No male victim fits the mold of the "perfect victim" by our current societal standards, and because of this they are even less likely to report than female victims ("Male Sexual Victimization: Examining Men's Experiences of Rape and Sexual Assault" by Karen G Weiss). Rape myths actually make males perfect victims for predators, and places like college campuses, where rates of sexual assault are already abnormally high, are the perfect hunting ground.
I was first introduced to the concepts of rape myths in the article "Examining the Relationship Between Male Rape Myth Acceptance, Female Rape Myth Acceptance, Victim Blame, Homophobia, Gender Roles, and Ambivalent Sexism" by Michelle Lowe, Paul Rogers, and Jennifer Gilston. Rape myths are a collection of false beliefs surrounding sexual assault, and especially plague male sexual assault. They are based on harmful negative stereotypes and concepts, and are often rooted in sexism and homophobia. Rape myths surrounding male sexual assault are often related to the belief that men are strong and dominant and women passive and weak, so when it comes to sexual assault, men are categorized as predators and women as victims. According to “Male Sexual Assault Victims: A Selective Review of the Literature and Implications for Support Services” by Michelle Davies, men are believed to always want sex, and following that myth are incapable of being sexually assaulted by a female because a) they are always seeking sexual contact and b) they are stronger and therefore cannot be physically dominated by a female. If a man claims to be sexually assaulted by a woman, his masculinity is brought into question as well as his sexual orientation (the same goes for straight men assaulted by men, or gay men assaulted by men). Since females are considered to be physically and emotionally more vulnerable than males, so according to rape myths a male victim cannot be traumatized to the same extent as a female victim. No matter what combination of perpetrator-victim gender and orientation, or no matter the relationship or lack thereof between perpetrator and victim, rape myths dictate that a man cannot be a victim.
The article "The Role of "Real Rape" and "Real Victim" Stereotypes in the Police Reporting Practices of Sexually Assaulted Women" by Janice Du Mont et al. is where I first read about the terms "real rape" and "perfect victim", which are characterized by rape myths. The article defines these two terms as "an act of violent, forceful penetration committed by a stranger during a blitz attack in a public, deserted place. The victim is portrayed as a morally upright White woman who is physically injured while resisting (Steketee & Austin, 1989; Weis & Borges, 1973; Williams, 1984)." Any victim who does not fit the mold of the perfect victim is less likely to report their rape or assault, which is one of the reasons why the concept of the perfect victim is such a harmful one.
I was first introduced to the concepts of rape myths in the article "Examining the Relationship Between Male Rape Myth Acceptance, Female Rape Myth Acceptance, Victim Blame, Homophobia, Gender Roles, and Ambivalent Sexism" by Michelle Lowe, Paul Rogers, and Jennifer Gilston. Rape myths are a collection of false beliefs surrounding sexual assault, and especially plague male sexual assault. They are based on harmful negative stereotypes and concepts, and are often rooted in sexism and homophobia. Rape myths surrounding male sexual assault are often related to the belief that men are strong and dominant and women passive and weak, so when it comes to sexual assault, men are categorized as predators and women as victims. According to “Male Sexual Assault Victims: A Selective Review of the Literature and Implications for Support Services” by Michelle Davies, men are believed to always want sex, and following that myth are incapable of being sexually assaulted by a female because a) they are always seeking sexual contact and b) they are stronger and therefore cannot be physically dominated by a female. If a man claims to be sexually assaulted by a woman, his masculinity is brought into question as well as his sexual orientation (the same goes for straight men assaulted by men, or gay men assaulted by men). Since females are considered to be physically and emotionally more vulnerable than males, so according to rape myths a male victim cannot be traumatized to the same extent as a female victim. No matter what combination of perpetrator-victim gender and orientation, or no matter the relationship or lack thereof between perpetrator and victim, rape myths dictate that a man cannot be a victim.
The article "The Role of "Real Rape" and "Real Victim" Stereotypes in the Police Reporting Practices of Sexually Assaulted Women" by Janice Du Mont et al. is where I first read about the terms "real rape" and "perfect victim", which are characterized by rape myths. The article defines these two terms as "an act of violent, forceful penetration committed by a stranger during a blitz attack in a public, deserted place. The victim is portrayed as a morally upright White woman who is physically injured while resisting (Steketee & Austin, 1989; Weis & Borges, 1973; Williams, 1984)." Any victim who does not fit the mold of the perfect victim is less likely to report their rape or assault, which is one of the reasons why the concept of the perfect victim is such a harmful one.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Literature Review #4
1. Image of the authors.
2. Studzinska, Anna, and Denis Hilton. "Minimization of Male Suffering: Perception of Victims and Perpetrators of Opposite-sex Sexual Coercion." ResearchGate. Sexuality Research and Social Policy: Journal of NSRC, Mar. 2016. Web. 4 Nov. 2016
3. The reading is about the minimization of male suffering as a result of unwanted sexual contact. Studies reveal that male victims of sexual assault are negatively impacted just as much as female victims, but female victims are perceived to suffer more than men after after a sexual assault. The authors conducted studies in which they gathered how participants perceived the perpetrators as well as the severity of victims' suffering. The studies found that perpetrators who assaulted females were perceived more negatively than perpetrators who assaulted females, and female victims were perceived to suffer more than male victims.
4. Anna Studzinska:
Denis Hilton:
5. SH: Sexual Harassment
MMS: Minimization of Male Suffering
6. " Research on effects of all types of SH shows that its victims suffer from numerous psychological and somatic problems, which include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, headaches, and decrease in sleep or weight loss (Pina and Gannon 2012; Willness et al. 2007; Charney and Russell 1994)." (4)
"It should be noted that even though SH is more frequently experienced by women, men are not only victims of SH but the number of claims of SH of men is also increasing (Foote and GoodmanDelahunty 2005). Several studies show men of different ages and backgrounds to be victims of different types of SH." (5)
"As predicted, sex of the victim influenced the perception of their suffering. We observed that all of the scales measuring perceptions of the victim’s state overall showed results consistent with the hypothesis; i.e., a female victim was perceived to suffer more than a male victim. However, men and women differed in the kinds of distress they attributed more to women. Thus, female participants evaluated the female victim as suffering significantly more from depressive symptoms than the male victim ... whereas the male participants evaluated the depressive symptoms to be similar for both male and female victims." (9)
7. In my paper, I'm arguing that this incorrect perception that males do not suffer as a result of sexual assault contributes to male sexual assault being taken less seriously or even believed to be impossible. This study will help me to demonstrate the fact that many hold the belief that men are not affected by, or are largely unaffected by sexual violation and unwanted sexual contact. This plays into the notion that men are perpetrators and females are victims, and that men are emotionally stronger than women, and therefore unaffected by sexual assault, while women are weaker and emotionally vulnerable.
2. Studzinska, Anna, and Denis Hilton. "Minimization of Male Suffering: Perception of Victims and Perpetrators of Opposite-sex Sexual Coercion." ResearchGate. Sexuality Research and Social Policy: Journal of NSRC, Mar. 2016. Web. 4 Nov. 2016
3. The reading is about the minimization of male suffering as a result of unwanted sexual contact. Studies reveal that male victims of sexual assault are negatively impacted just as much as female victims, but female victims are perceived to suffer more than men after after a sexual assault. The authors conducted studies in which they gathered how participants perceived the perpetrators as well as the severity of victims' suffering. The studies found that perpetrators who assaulted females were perceived more negatively than perpetrators who assaulted females, and female victims were perceived to suffer more than male victims.
4. Anna Studzinska:
Research Project Manager
University of Social Sciences and Humanities · Faculty of Psychology
Poland · Warsaw
Denis Hilton:
Professor of Psychology
University of Toulouse II - Le Mirail · Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie (CLLE-ERSS) · Axe E, Contexte social et régulation de la cognition
France · Toulouse
MMS: Minimization of Male Suffering
6. " Research on effects of all types of SH shows that its victims suffer from numerous psychological and somatic problems, which include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, headaches, and decrease in sleep or weight loss (Pina and Gannon 2012; Willness et al. 2007; Charney and Russell 1994)." (4)
"It should be noted that even though SH is more frequently experienced by women, men are not only victims of SH but the number of claims of SH of men is also increasing (Foote and GoodmanDelahunty 2005). Several studies show men of different ages and backgrounds to be victims of different types of SH." (5)
"As predicted, sex of the victim influenced the perception of their suffering. We observed that all of the scales measuring perceptions of the victim’s state overall showed results consistent with the hypothesis; i.e., a female victim was perceived to suffer more than a male victim. However, men and women differed in the kinds of distress they attributed more to women. Thus, female participants evaluated the female victim as suffering significantly more from depressive symptoms than the male victim ... whereas the male participants evaluated the depressive symptoms to be similar for both male and female victims." (9)
7. In my paper, I'm arguing that this incorrect perception that males do not suffer as a result of sexual assault contributes to male sexual assault being taken less seriously or even believed to be impossible. This study will help me to demonstrate the fact that many hold the belief that men are not affected by, or are largely unaffected by sexual violation and unwanted sexual contact. This plays into the notion that men are perpetrators and females are victims, and that men are emotionally stronger than women, and therefore unaffected by sexual assault, while women are weaker and emotionally vulnerable.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Initial Bibliography
- Sable, Marjorie R., Fran Danis, Denise L. Mauzy, and Sarah K. Gallagher. Barriers to Reporting Sexual Assault for Women and Men: Perspectives of College Students. Journal of American College Health. N.p., Nov. 2006. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
- Lowe, Michelle. Male Sexual Assault Victims: A Selective Review of the Literature and Implications for Support Services. ResearchGate. N.p., 9 July 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
- Lowe, Michelle, Paul Rogers, and Jennifer Gilston. Examining the Relationship Between Male Rape Myth Acceptance, Female Rape Myth Acceptance, Victim Blame, Homophobia, Gender Roles, and Ambivalent Sexism. ResearchGate. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
- Mitchell, Damon, Gordon C. Nagayama Hall, and Richard Hirschman. Attributions of Victim Responsibility, Pleasure, and Trauma in Male Rape. ResearchGate. Journal of Sex Research, Nov. 1999. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
- Larimer, Mary E., Amy R. Lydum, Britt K. Anderson, and Aaron P. Turner. Male and Female Recipients of Unwanted Sexual Contact in a College Student Sample: Prevalence Rates, Alcohol Use, and Depression Symptoms. ResearchGate. Sex Roles, Feb. 1999. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
- Scarce, Michael. Same-Sex Rape of Male College Students. University of Minnesota Duluth. Journal of American College Health, Jan. 1997. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
- “UCR Program Changes Definition of Rape.” FBI, 15 July 2016. Web. 25 Oct. 2016
Anderson, Peter B., and Cindy Struckman-Johnson. Sexually Aggressive Women: Current Perspectives and Controversies. New York: Guilford, 1998. Print.
McMullen, Richie. Male Rape: Breaking the Silence on the Last Taboo. London: GMP, 1990. Print.
Scacco, Anthony M. Male Rape: A Casebook of Sexual Aggressions. New York, NY: AMS, 1982. Print.
Literature Review #3
1) Image of Gordon C. Nagayama Hall
2) Mitchell, Damon, Gordon C. Nagayama Hall, and Richard Hirschman. "Attributions of Victim Responsibility, Pleasure, and Trauma in Male Rape." Https://www.jstor.org. The Journal of Sex Research, Nov. 1999. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
3) This study examined how much the sexual orientation of a male-on-male rape victim affected how much responsibility participants placed on the victim, and how much pleasure and trauma the participants thought the victim received from the assault. It also examined the differences in victim attribution by the male and female participants. More responsibility, more pleasure, and less trauma were attributed to homosexual victims, and male participants attributed more blame than did female participants.
4) Damon Mitchell is a professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Central Connecticut State University.
Gordon C Nagayama Hall is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon.
Richard Hirschman is a professor in the Department of psychology at Kent State University.
5) Attribution: attributions of the victim's degree of responsibility, pleasure, and trauma associated with the assault.
Victim Responsibility: The degree to which a victim is blamed for their own assault. Especially common with sexual assault cases compared to other crimes.
6) "It has been shown in laboratory experiments that people often hold rape victims somewhat responsible for their fate." (369)
"Although the stereotype may be that men would not be as powerfully affected by such an event because they are supposedly tougher emotionally and better able to cope, there is a similarity between male rape victims and the rape trauma syndrome observed in female rape victims." (369)
"Given the social stigma associated with male rape, it seems likely that males rapes are even more under-reported than rape involving a female victim."
7) This study helps to demonstrate the strong biases and stigmas held against homosexuals, misconceptions about rape and victim responsibility, and how misconceptions about rape and victim responsibility as well as homophobia affects the male rape victim. By attributing more blame and less trauma to a victim because they happen to be attracted to members of the gender to which the perpetrator belongs to, a precedent is set that extends to all sexual assault victims- if someone, male or female, is raped by, for example, a romantic partner or someone the victim was interested in, it's the same type of victim blaming as in a homosexual victim of male-on-male rape. This further illustrates how stigmas held toward male rape don't exist in a vacuum.
Attributions of victim responsibility are a huge issue when it comes to stigmas affecting rape victims, and creates barriers which prevent a victim from reporting. It also shows that many hold the incorrect notion that physical pleasure during assault means more victim responsibility and less trauma associated with the assault, when in fact it can cause additional trauma. It also shows that the undercurrent of homophobia in society affects certain rape victims.
2) Mitchell, Damon, Gordon C. Nagayama Hall, and Richard Hirschman. "Attributions of Victim Responsibility, Pleasure, and Trauma in Male Rape." Https://www.jstor.org. The Journal of Sex Research, Nov. 1999. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
3) This study examined how much the sexual orientation of a male-on-male rape victim affected how much responsibility participants placed on the victim, and how much pleasure and trauma the participants thought the victim received from the assault. It also examined the differences in victim attribution by the male and female participants. More responsibility, more pleasure, and less trauma were attributed to homosexual victims, and male participants attributed more blame than did female participants.
4) Damon Mitchell is a professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Central Connecticut State University.
Gordon C Nagayama Hall is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon.
Richard Hirschman is a professor in the Department of psychology at Kent State University.
5) Attribution: attributions of the victim's degree of responsibility, pleasure, and trauma associated with the assault.
Victim Responsibility: The degree to which a victim is blamed for their own assault. Especially common with sexual assault cases compared to other crimes.
6) "It has been shown in laboratory experiments that people often hold rape victims somewhat responsible for their fate." (369)
"Although the stereotype may be that men would not be as powerfully affected by such an event because they are supposedly tougher emotionally and better able to cope, there is a similarity between male rape victims and the rape trauma syndrome observed in female rape victims." (369)
"Given the social stigma associated with male rape, it seems likely that males rapes are even more under-reported than rape involving a female victim."
7) This study helps to demonstrate the strong biases and stigmas held against homosexuals, misconceptions about rape and victim responsibility, and how misconceptions about rape and victim responsibility as well as homophobia affects the male rape victim. By attributing more blame and less trauma to a victim because they happen to be attracted to members of the gender to which the perpetrator belongs to, a precedent is set that extends to all sexual assault victims- if someone, male or female, is raped by, for example, a romantic partner or someone the victim was interested in, it's the same type of victim blaming as in a homosexual victim of male-on-male rape. This further illustrates how stigmas held toward male rape don't exist in a vacuum.
Attributions of victim responsibility are a huge issue when it comes to stigmas affecting rape victims, and creates barriers which prevent a victim from reporting. It also shows that many hold the incorrect notion that physical pleasure during assault means more victim responsibility and less trauma associated with the assault, when in fact it can cause additional trauma. It also shows that the undercurrent of homophobia in society affects certain rape victims.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Research Proposal
Merav Kleinmann
Professor Goeller
Research Proposal
10/17/2016
Working Title: Male Sexual Assault: Overcoming Barriers
Topic: The focus of the paper will be sexual assault on males, specifically the barriers that prevent males from reporting their assaults on college campuses. The paper will explore how the public’s perception of male rape, male rape myths, gender roles/sexism, heavy stigmatization, victim orientation, gender of perpetrator, and assault circumstances negatively affect male victims and lead to more rapes and assaults going unreported. Male sexual assault victims are erased and marginalized, largely unacknowledged by society, and often their assault is not considered legitimate for any combination of the factors listed above. What can colleges do to help break down some of those barriers and rape myths so male sexual assault like can be treated as the serious issue it is?
Research Question: What are the barriers that stand in the way of male sexual assault victims reporting their assault, why do they exist, and how do they affect the victim? Why is male sexual assault treated the way that it is, and what can colleges do to help break down these barriers?
Theoretical Frame: Sexual assault on males is a very real problem, but for many reasons, including male rape myths, gender roles, sexism, and heavy stigmatization, male sexual assault is often not considered possible or legitimate.
Typically, men are assumed to be the gender to always be seeking out sex, so they are usually assumed to be the perpetrator of sexual assault, while females are the victims. Men are considered the stronger sex, and for this reason it’s thought that it’s not physically possible for a male to be raped by a female, which erases male victims of sexual coercion. If a male victim derives physical pleasure from an assault, which is fairly common, the assault is even less likely to be taken seriously. If a male victim was physically overpowered by a female during an assault, reporting it will call their masculinity into question as well as the legitimacy of their victimhood (“Why didn’t you fight harder? She’s just a girl.”). These harmful stigmas and beliefs erase male victims of female perpetrators and makes it very unlikely for them to report their assault. Because these beliefs are so widely held, they dictate how the victim will be treated by law enforcement, as well as family and friends.
The sexual assault of males is often pigeonholed into prison rape and rape in the LGBTQ+ community. It’s pushed aside as a problem for “others”, when in reality sexual assault on males by both male and female perpetrators can occur in any setting, including college campuses. College-age males are much more likely to be assaulted than males of other ages. This really illustrates the need for colleges to implement education programs and support services for male victims of sexual assault. Right now, it’s largely ignored and considered a non-issue,
It can be very difficult to identify the statistics of male sexual assault. Many cases of male sexual assault go completely unreported due to the barriers. Numbers can vary wildly from study to study, because the legal definitions of male sexual assault vary from area to area. Until 2012, the FBI defined rape as “carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and without her consent.” (“UCR Program Changes Definition of Rape.”) In 2013, they updated it to read “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” This is slightly better than the previous definition, but still erases many of the kinds of sexual assaults which happens to males. It only include assaults where a male is forcibly penetrated, and don’t include assaults where a male is forced to penetrate, again erasing many female-on-male assaults. How can a victim of one of these other forms of assault come forward when in many places their assault is not included in the legal definition of rape, which is basically the bare minimum for rape reporting?
“Male Sexual Assault Victims A Selective Review of the Literature and Implications for Support Services” by Michelle Lowe explores the prevalence of sexual assault on males, the effects of sexual assault on a male victim, and the roles the victim’s orientation and the gender of the perpetrator play in how the public regards a male victim and his assault. Support services will be one of the focuses of my essay, as an answer to the question “what can colleges do?” Implementing support services across college campuses is the solution to the issues raised in my thesis.
“Attributions of Victim Responsibility, Pleasure, and Trauma in Male Rape” by Damon Mitchell et al. is a study that explores attitudes of both females and males towards the sexual assault of a male by a male perpetrator. It discusses how these attitudes impact whether or not a victim will report and why. Gay men are less likely to report because they are afraid that they will be perceived by law enforcement and others as “asking for it” or as having enjoyed the assault (similar to how men raped by women would be perceived as not legitimate victims because they enjoyed it). This also illustrates how sexual orientation and gender of perpetrator play a direct role in creating a barrier between victims and reporting, because of their fear of how they will be perceived. Stigma is not just an external force, it is internalized by rape and assault victims, to their detriment. Stigmas affect everyone involved in sexual assault; the perpetrators, who might use these notions to justify their crime, the victims, who will (as the article discusses) self-blame for their assault, and the public (including law enforcement, family, and friends), whose attitude towards male sexual assault will affect whether or not a victim will report.
With these and other barriers preventing victims from either reporting their assault or divulging it to family or friends, victims are forced to keep their assault to themselves, despite the toll that may take on their well-being and mental health. Isn’t being a sexual assault victim enough of an ordeal without society punishing male victims for existing, inflicting further hardship on the victims?
Research Plan: I also want to answer to what extent males are affected by their assault emotionally/mentally as a way to prove the legitimacy of sexual assault on males. I want to show that sexism towards male is not only possible but hurts the male sexual assault victim and creates barriers which stop them from reporting. I want to show that gender roles hurt both genders and allow rapists to exploit others without consequence. I also would like to answer the question about what colleges can potentially do to help break down barriers, through education, awareness campaigns, and offering support services.
I also plan on watching the documentary “The Hunting Ground”.
Works Cited:
- Sable, Marjorie R., Fran Danis, Denise L. Mauzy, and Sarah K. Gallagher. Barriers to Reporting Sexual Assault for Women and Men: Perspectives of College Students. Journal of American College Health. N.p., Nov. 2006. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
- Lowe, Michelle. Male Sexual Assault Victims: A Selective Review of the Literature and Implications for Support Services. ResearchGate. N.p., 9 July 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
- Lowe, Michelle, Paul Rogers, and Jennifer Gilston. Examining the Relationship Between Male Rape Myth Acceptance, Female Rape Myth Acceptance, Victim Blame, Homophobia, Gender Roles, and Ambivalent Sexism. ResearchGate. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
- Mitchell, Damon, Gordon C. Nagayama Hall, and Richard Hirschman. Attributions of Victim Responsibility, Pleasure, and Trauma in Male Rape. ResearchGate. Journal of Sex Research, Nov. 1999. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
- Larimer, Mary E., Amy R. Lydum, Britt K. Anderson, and Aaron P. Turner. Male and Female Recipients of Unwanted Sexual Contact in a College Student Sample: Prevalence Rates, Alcohol Use, and Depression Symptoms. ResearchGate. Sex Roles, Feb. 1999. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
- Scarce, Michael. Same-Sex Rape of Male College Students. University of Minnesota Duluth. Journal of American College Health, Jan. 1997. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
- “UCR Program Changes Definition of Rape.” FBI, 15 July 2016. Web. 25 Oct. 2016
Monday, October 17, 2016
Literature Review #2
1) Images of two of the authors.
2) Sable, Marjorie R., Fran Danis, Denise L. Mauzy, and Sarah K. Gallagher. "Barriers to Reporting Sexual Assault for Women and Men: Perspectives of College Students." Journal of American College Health. N.p., Nov. 2006. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
2) Sable, Marjorie R., Fran Danis, Denise L. Mauzy, and Sarah K. Gallagher. "Barriers to Reporting Sexual Assault for Women and Men: Perspectives of College Students." Journal of American College Health. N.p., Nov. 2006. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
3) In this article, the authors asked college students both male and female about barriers that prevent victims from reporting their assaults. They found that despite the rape reform movement, barriers are still much the same as they were thirty years ago. The barriers were rated as "(1) shame, guilt, embarrassment, not wanting friends and family to know; (2) concerns about confidentiality; and (3) fear of not being believed". Some students, both male and female, felt that a fear of being perceived as gay was a barrier for male victims.
4) Marjorie R Sable, DRPH, MSW, MPH works at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
Fran Danis is a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Texas, Arlington.
Denise L Mauzy and Sarah K Gallagher both worked at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
5) Barrier: Something that prevents a rape victim from reporting their rape or telling others about their rape.
6) "The lack of attention to male sexual assault victimization has allowed society to dismiss the problem as a behavior that occurs in the gay community or prison environment." (158)
"Exploring gender differences about the perceived importance of barriers could broaden our understanding of factors that contribute to underreporting and could help to distinguish commonalities as well as differences in barriers to reporting." (158)
"Although both female and male victims experience self-blame and shame, often the reason for this reaction has a gendered contextual meaning ... The high score that fear of being judged as gay received by the respondents may acknowledge society's consideration that male rape occurs in the gay, not the general, community." (160)
7) This study helped me to further understand some of the specific reasons why victims, specifically male victims, may not report their rape, and in this case the focus is on a fear of being perceived as gay to be a big barrier. This reinforces my thought that sexual orientation and gender role play a massive part in assaults going unreported. To a large part of the public, male rape is pigeonholed into the gay community or prison, ignoring the fact that sexual assault on males occurs on a much larger scale. Victims outside of those specific communities are erased and ignored, making it extremely unlikely for them to ever report.
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