Men Can Be Victims Too

While reading Chapter 12 of the textbook this week, I took notice that the author spent a decent portion of the chapter on rape.  Throughout the section dedicated to the topic, I realized that it was entirely about the rape of women. Never once did he mention the rape of men during his writing.  Although statistics prove that females are victims at a significantly higher rate than men (9 out of every 10), there is still the possibility that a male can be a victim of rape.

Shows dedicated to the police investigation of rape, such as Law & Order : Special Victims Unit, have become more prevalent on television today.  I am not a hardcore SVU fan, but I do watch it occasionally.  In all the episodes I have watched, I have NEVER EVER witnessed an episode where an adult male was a victim of a rape.  Every episode was focused on the rape of women and/or children of both genders.  The media is giving a false idea that only females and children can be victims of rape.  Rape is classified as a victim being unable or unwilling to consent to sex. A man can be raped if he is:

1) impaired by drugs or alcohol
2) under the age of consent (16-18 in most states)
3) physically handicapped or limited
4) physically forced or coerced by a woman

There have been numerous cases of statutory rape in schools regarding a female teacher and a male student.  In many of these cases, the female teachers do not face punishments as harsh as would have been presented if the perpetrator was a male.  For instance, a New Jersey schoolteacher pled guilty to sexual assault charges in 2005 and was sentenced to probation and wasn't require to register as a sex offender. She wasn't fired from her job; instead, she was given an early retirement package that increased her pension. Think this same process would be taken if a male teacher had been convicted?  I don't think so.

However, there are countries in which men cannot be viewed as victims of rape.  In Zimbabwe, three women were convicted of 17 counts of aggravated indecent assault instead of rape because the country doesn't recognize the act of a woman raping a man.  One victim stated that water was thrown in his face upon receiving a ride with the woman and was injected with something that provided him with a strong sexual desire.  He was then made to have sex with them multiple times using condoms each time.  Condoms
were used by the perpetrators to catch the sperm that the women allegedly used to in rituals that claim to make people wealthy.  Since the report of the male rapes, many men have rejected the idea of hitch hiking and have went to riding buses to get around.  These men are currently facing the same issues that a female rape victim would have to endure.  Cases of denial, self-blaming, depression, and suicidal thoughts have been recognized in these rape victims.

Although not as prevalent, men are still the targets and can be victims of rape.  In my opinion, our textbook and our society do not do a good job in portraying men as victims, only as perpetrators.