Health professionals who work with rape survivors know that men are raped. Although the vast majority of rape victims are women, men are also targets of sexual aggression, including rape (Coxell & King, 2010; Davies et al., 2006; Kassing et al., 2005). A 2007 survey conducted on American college campuses found that about 6% of college men are victims of attempted or completed sexual assault (Paulson, 2011). An exhaustive review of 120 studies of sexual victimization that collectively analyzed data from more than 100,000 respondents found incidence rates for completed and attempted male rape by female perpetrators of 3.3% and 5.5%, respectively (Spitzberg, 1999). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey of over 16,000 American adults found that up to 2% of men have been raped, many when they were under age 11 (Rabin, 2011). A recent Department of Justice report indicated that 3% of American men have been raped (Rabin, 2012).
Statistics on the frequency of male sexual victimization have been difficult to obtain for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that men are even less likely than women to report that they have been raped (Choudhard et al., 2012; Davies et al., 2006; Kassing et al., 2005). It is estimated that only 1 in 10 male rapes are reported to the police (Kassing et al., 2005). One reason for this failure to report may be that men fear they will be judged harshly if they report abuse. At least one study supports this concern (Spencer & Tan, 1999). The investigators found that men who reported being sexually abused were viewed negatively, especially by other men. Victimized men may also anticipate that law enforcement personnel may not believe that a crime occurred or may believe that they somehow instigated or asked for the rape (Kassing et al., 2005; Walker et al., 2005). In addition, men who are socialized to be physically strong and able to protect themselves may believe that reporting their victimization will reflect weakness or personal blame (Kassing et al., 2005).
The sexual assault of men is rarely reported in the media or in the psychological and medical literature (Stermac et al., 1996). The result is that little research has been conducted on the issue of sexual aggression against men (Choudhard et al., 2012). In fact, only in the last decade or so have many states revised their criminal codes to include adult males as victims in the definition of rape.
Rapes of males may be perpetrated by heterosexual men, who often commit their crime with one or more cohorts (Frazier, 1993; Isely & Gehrenbeck-Shim, 1997). As in