Running head: MALE VS FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE

Comprehensive versus Abstinence Only Sex Education

Kendra King
Utah State University

MALE VS FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE

Whenever the words sexual assault are said, the most common response is to assume
the victim is female and the perpetrator is male. We often think, He probably got her drunk,
maybe overpowered her, or perhaps its just the male dominance that still presides in our culture
that allowed him to feel entitled to take her. Our minds paint this picture of a girl weeping in a
dark corner while a guy zips up his pants and leaves to go brag about his conquest to his friends
over a beer. Similar stereotypes exist in our head when we think of childhood sexual abuse. We
see a girl and her uncle or step-father. Its another victimized female and a thought of, What
kind of an animal is he? Its not often that we hear of the twelve year old boy in the locker room
whose friends are congratulating him for sleeping with his female math teacher while he
struggles to comprehend why he is being heralded as a hero when in fact he feels like nothing
more than the girl huddled in the corner. It is even less often that we hear of how a man walks
down a street or into the bathroom of a bar to be pinned and assaulted by multiple men, left
shamed, bleeding, and feeling totally voiceless and lost for how to sustain his silence about the
event that transpired.
In our culture there is a strong stereotype of the overwhelming majority of sexual abuse
victims being female and it is a stereotype that is becoming less and less supported by the
number of sex abuse victims coming forward, especially those that are male. Unfortunately, we
still lack the resources needed to adequately address the complex issues faced by male sexual
abuse victims.
First, lets look at the number of childhood sexual abuse victims to the best of our
knowledge. It is sighted in Brannons Gender Psychological Prospectives that it is very
difficult to get a truly accurate picture of the number of childhood sex abuse victims due

MALE VS FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE

to underreporting and various inaccuracies in reporting (Brannon, 2011). With this in

mind, the generally accepted figure of male and female childhood sex abuse victims is
debated and can be listed as low as 1 in 11 for girls and 1 in 20 for boys (Letourneau,
Neitert & Rheingold, 2016) to 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys with the recognition that even
this may be an underreported figure, especially for male victims (NSOPW, 2016). This
tendency towards underreporting increases for men in their adult years due to the stigma
and stereotyping that occurs with male victims which we will discuss shortly, but over a
lifetime it is estimated that men underreport at 2 to 3 times the rate that women
underreport (Little & Hamby, 1999)
As we look into data on adult rape, we enter a gray area that is continually being
challenged. As recently as 2012, the accepted definition of the FBI permitted discrimination
against male rape victims by defining rape as: the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and
against her will, (FBI, 2016). In 2013, data began to be evaluated under a revised definition of
rape: 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. Due to this
redefining of rape, it is difficult if not impossible to know how many men were sexually
assaulted prior to 2013 by the FBIs standard.
In addition to the FBIs former definition of rape, the idea of male rape being conceited
as something that stereotypes a man as weak, and the fact that society struggles to see men as
victims and not just perpetrators adds to the stigma that often accounts for underreporting. The
stereotype of men only being abusers is often supported by fact that 94-100% of females who are
sexually abused are abused by men and 60-84% of male sex abuse cases will also involve at least
one male perpetrator (Brannon, 2011). This should not be interpreted as saying that only men

MALE VS FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE

abuse. Females are the primary abuser reported in 6-15% of all cases (Turchik & Edwards,
2012).
Both male and female victims can suffer from stereotypical myths that society
assigns to sexual abuse such as women being more responsible for an assault while
drinking, only men sexually assault women, women are the only victims, and that most
victims dont know their perpetrator. (Ayala, Hetz & Kotary, 2015, p. 2). There has been
a good deal of work done to discredit some of the myths around women and rape. This is
especially true on college campuses since it has become a known fact that most women
who endure an act of attempted or completed sexual assault will have it happen between
the ages of 18 and 24 and that stereotypes are a contributing factor to the excessively low
number of those rapes being reported each year (Ayala, Hetz & Kotary, 2015). A sexual
assault statistic for college aged men has proven elusive to find.
Men are often left out of this work with stereotypes. A 2012 study posted by Psychology
of Men and Masculinity lists several of these persisting stereotypes such as men cannot be
raped, real men can defend themselves against rape, only gay men perpetrate/are victims of
rape, etc (Turchik & Edwards, 2012, p. 212). This study goes on to see how many people
believe these myths about male rape and is able to show that, though all of the cited myths have
shown a decline in believers over the last fifteen years, the ones that persist the most are that men
who are raped by women are somewhat to blame for it and for not fighting the perpetrator off,
especially if female (Turchik & Edwards, 2012). It is these stereotypes that are speculated as
being a large contributing factor the even more exaggerated disparity between the number of
men vs women who report rape.

MALE VS FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE

The stereotypes of male rape have even deeper detriments than those of female rape due
to our patriarchal society. With such views, women are already seen as the lessor and weaker
sex, especially by those with more ridged beliefs in traditional gender roles. Rape, though still
very traumatizing, does not carry the same magnitude of social stigma for women. With
consideration to men, though, we not only find that men are more likely than women to endorse
rape myths, but that they are also more likely to hold them against other men (Davies, Gilston, &
Rogers, 2012). There is a particularly detrimental double edged sword that we see when we have
to consider that men who are raped not only shame themselves about their inability to fight off an
attacker, but will also face societal shame for not being manly enough to defend themselves by
both women, but more so by men (Davies, Gilston, & Rogers, 2012).
There are many similarities when it comes to the mental health aspects of
surviving sexual abuse. We can expect both men and women to struggle with things like
self-esteem, depression, PTSD, relationships, and coping (Little & Hamby, 1999).
However, there are certain issues that will be more specific to men such as questioning
their sexuality due to men primarily having same-sex abusers (Little & Hamby, 1999), It
is also more difficult for men to express strong emotion and may take extra
encouragement and a sensitivity to how difficult that can be for them (Easton, Saltzman
& Willis, 2014).
When it comes to seeking help after the occurrence of a sexual assault, women are
best supported due to there being more data about female sexual abuse survivors and
other factors such as men reporting less frequently and clinicians failing to ask men about
previous sexual abuse (Little & Hamby, 1999). Though women face barriers such as rape
myths and stereotypes, once they chose to step forward and seek support, many women
are able to make good progress. This cannot always be said for men because of the

MALE VS FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE

complex and intertwined factors affecting the disclosure process. Some of the issues that
are unique to men would be questioning their sexuality after being abused by another
man, struggling with the idea of masculinity and how their victimhood may leave them
feeling conflicted about their own masculinity, and the struggle that comes with grappling
not only with the abuse but wondering if they will now go on to be abusers themselves
(Easton, Saltzman & Willis, 2014).
Another factor in receiving adequate support, specifically in children, is the age at
which the abuse is revealed, especially to a mental health worker. This is to the detriment
of older children as, across the board, male and female therapists both cited a decreased
likelihood or reporting child sexual abuse if the child was older (Kennel & Agresti,
1995). The age at which most child sexual abuse occurs is during the preteen years, with
girls experiencing the most abuse between the ages of 10 and 11 and boys experiencing
the most abuse between the ages of 11 and 12 (Brannon, 2011).
Sexual abuse is a very prominent issue in our society and we expect that roughly
every fifth person we meet will have had to endure it. Abuse affects every age but is
most prominent among our youngest members and those who are just starting out their
adult life. The effects of sexual abuse can often be lifelong and rape myths and
stereotyping can frequently leave victims voiceless and feeling unsafe in seeking help to
heal. It is my feeling that our most vulnerable members of society in terms of sexual
abuse are not women, but men due to the nature of often having their gender identity
shaken on top of enduring the abuse and having the fewest resources available to cater to
the complexity of their trauma.
To develop a fuller picture of the damage sexual abuse can produce and to better
therapeutic strategies to address the differences in treating men and women for the
trauma, it would be beneficial to see more research done on men and to help break up the

MALE VS FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE

stereotypes that surround their abuse to decrease the severe underreporting that
accompanies their gender.

References:
Ayala, E. E., Hetz, M., & Kotary, B. (2015). Blame attributions of victims and
perpetrators: effects of victim gender, perpetrator gender, and relationship. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence, 27(14), 2880-2823. Doi:10.1177-08862260515599160
Brannon, Linda (2011). Gender psychological prospectives. Boston, MA: Allyn &
Bacon.
Davies, M., Gilston, J., & Rogers, P. (2012). Examining the relationships between male
rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, victim blame, homophobia,
gender roles, amd ambivalent sexism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(14),
2807-2823. Dio: 10.1177/0886260512438281
Easton, S. D., Saltzman, L. Y., & Willis, D. G. (2014). Would you tell under
circumstances like that?: Barriers to disclosure of child sexual abuse for
men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 15(4), 460-469.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.dist.lib.usu.edu/10.1037/a0034223
Federal Bureau of Investigations. (2016). Definition. Retrieved from:

MALE VS FEMALE SEXUAL ABUSE

https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.2013/violent- crime/rape
Kennel, R. G., & Agresti, A. A. (1995). Effects of gender and age on psychologists'
reporting of child sexual abuse. Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice, 26(6), 612-615. doi:http://dx.doi.org.dist.lib.usu.edu/10.1037/07357028.26.6.612
Letourneau, E. J., Neitert, P. J., & Rheingold, A. A. (2016). Initial assessment of children
program effects of child sexual abuse reporting rates in selected South Carolina
counties. Child Maltreatment, 21(1) 74-79. Dio: 10.1177/1077559515615232
Little, L., & Hamby, S. L. (1999). Gender differences in sexual abuse outcomes and
recovery experiences: A survey of therapist-survivors. Professional Psychology:
Research and Practice, 30(4), 378-385.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.dist.lib.usu.edu/10.1037/0735-7028.30.4.378
Male Survivor (2016). Facts. Retrieved from:
https://www.odh.ohio.gov/~/media/ODH/ASSETS/Files/hprr/sexual
%20assult/appendix182011.ashxx
http://www.malesurvivor.org/facts/
Turchik, J. A., & Edwards, K. M. (2012). Myths about male raper: A literature review.
Psychology of Men & Masculenity, 13(2), 211-226.
Doi;http://dx.doi.org.dist.lib.usu.edu/10.1037/a0023207
The U.S. Department of Justice NSWOP. (2016). Facts and statistics. Retrieved from:
https://www.nsopw.gov/enUS/Education/FactsStatistics?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1#disclosure

Walker., J, Archer, J, & Davies, M. (2005). Effects of rape on men: a descriptive

Analysis. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34(1), 69-80. dio:10.1007/s10508-005-1001-0