Perceptions of male rape and sexual assault in a male sample from the United Kingdom: Barriers to reporting and the impacts of victimization

Abstract

The present study explored the prevalence of myths about male sexual assault, assault by penetration, and rape in a male general population sample (N = 98; mean age = 26.17 years), with the aim of determining potential barriers to the reporting of incidents of male sexual victimization and reasons for reluctance to report. In addition, the impacts of prior experience of male sexual victimization, both direct and indirect, on rape and sexual assault myth acceptance and on attitudes to reporting were evaluated. Participants completed an online survey indicating their levels of agreement with a range of statements reflecting different rape and sexual assault myths identified within the previous literature. Overall, there were high levels of disagreement (>90%) with the majority of the statements. The only items generating higher agreement ratings were those suggesting that the police are unlikely to take male sexual victimization seriously and—where the offence in question was sexual assault or assault by penetration and the perpetrator female—that men should be able to defend themselves against such crimes. Those without any prior experience of male sexual victimization tended to disagree more with the rape myths than those with previous experience. When asked whether they would report these offences if they were to happen to them, participants said that they were more likely to report each of the types of offences when the perpetrator was male than when they were female. Potential implications of the findings, for male sex offence investigations and for the criminal justice system more generally, are discussed.

Unspoken victims: A national study of male rape incidents and police investigations in South Africa

“…[24] Research in the UK found that males were more likely to report sexual assault when another male was the perpetrator compared with a female. [25] Future research should explore differential reporting by male rape victims.…”

A multifactorial critical appraisal of substances found in drug facilitated sexual assault cases

“…The same reasons were given for male victims of sexual assaults, i.e. embarrassment and social stigma, as well as fear of not being believed [4]. However, lack of information on sexual assault on men and lack of an appropriate support system were also cited as reasons for under-reporting by male victims.…”

“…However, lack of information on sexual assault on men and lack of an appropriate support system were also cited as reasons for under-reporting by male victims. A study published in 2016 and based on 98 male respondents (19 to 58 years old) to an online survey showed that even though they disagreed with the majority of sexual assault/penetration/rape myths, they still believed that men can defend themselves from sexual assault and that the police will not take it seriously if a woman sexually assaults a man [4].…”

Police Officer Perceptions of Non-consensual Dissemination of Intimate Images

“…Statistics show that rape cases are characterized by high attrition rates, which are greatest at the investigative stage ( Parratt and Pina, 2017 ; Sleath and Bull, 2017 ). Moreover, rape victims who approached the police have reported low levels of satisfaction, feelings of not being taken seriously and being poorly or negatively treated ( Jordan, 2001 , 2004 ; Hammond et al, 2017 ). This further raises concern as to a possible impact of officer perceptions and judgments.…”