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Effects of Victimization - Men

Much has been written about the psychological trauma associated with the rape of female victims. While less research has been conducted about male rape victims, case research suggests that males also commonly experience many of the reactions that females experience. According to Isley 1991, these reactions include:

depression,
anger,
guilt,
self-blame,
sexual dysfunctions,
flashbacks, and
suicidal feelings

Other problems facing males include:

an increased sense of vulnerability,
damaged self-image, and
emotional distancing

Male rape victims not only have to confront unsympathetic attitudes if they choose to press charges, they also often hear unsupportive statements from their friends, family and acquaintances (Brochman, 1991). People will tend to fault the male victim instead of the rapist. Stephen Donaldson, president of Stop Prisoner Rape (a national education and advocacy group), says that the suppression of knowledge of male rape is so powerful and pervasive that criminals such as burglars and robbers sometimes rape their male victims as a sideline solely to prevent them from going to the police.

There are many reasons that male victims do not come forward and report being raped, but perhaps the biggest reason for many males is the fear of being perceived as homosexual. However, male sexual assault has nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the attacker or the victim, just as a sexual assault does not make the victim survivor gay, bisexual or heterosexual. It is a violent crime that affects heterosexual men as much as gay men. The phrase "homosexual rape," for instance, which is often used by uninformed persons to designate male-male rape, camouflages the fact that the majority of the rapists are not generally homosexual (Donaldson, 1990).

References

Brochman, Sue. (July 30, 1991). "Silent Victims: Bringing Male Rape Out of the Closet." The Advocate, 582: 38 - 43.
Donaldson, Donald. (1990). "Rape of Males," in Dynes, Wayne, ed. Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. New York: Garland Publications.
Isley, Paul. (1991). "Adult Male Sexual Assault in the Community: A Literature Review and Group Treatment Model," in Burgess, Ann, ed. Rape and Sexual Assault III: A Research Handbook. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.
Mezey, Gillian and Michael King. (1989). "The Effects of Sexual Assault on Men: A Survey of 22 Victims." Psychological Medicine, 19(1): 205 - 209.

This information was taken from National Center for Victims of Crime.

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