According to RAINN, (2009) approximately 10 per cent of all victims of sexual assault and abuse are adult and juvenile males. In terms of the nature of assault, real figures include a compendium of reported incidents ranging from unwanted sexual touching to forced penetration. To qualify this statement, it must be understood that the percentage does not reflect a vast number of crimes that go unreported due to issues that will be discussed in the present paper. Sexual assault is an under-reported crime. It is difficult for women to report sexual abuse but it is far more difficult for men. For males, it is exponentially more difficult to report such crimes, thus making it more difficult for victim advocates to present an environment where victims feel comfortable coming forward to report sex crimes. To this end, according to RAINN (2009) male victims of sex related crimes may find it easier to make a first report anonymously, giving them the opportunity to speak to an objective list, specifically trained to address specific and complex emotional issues related to this crime. Privacy and Confidentiality As it is in the case of the majority of violent crimes, (Davies and Rogers, 2006) perpetrators of violent crimes, and especially sexual assault related crimes exert additional force by threatening the victim or their families. Male victims also must contend with an additional sense of shame and embarrassment in being identified with a crime that has been typically portrayed in the media as happening to women. This places men at a disadvantage in the reporting process, because their safety and the safety of others is compromised further if the crime is not reported. (Messerschmitt, 2009) Emotional Considerations ... ... middle of paper ... ...Don't tell: The sexual abuse of boys. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press. Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of adult men and women: Prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14(1), 19-28. Hollander, J.A. (2001). Vulnerability and Dangerousness: The Construction of Gender through Conversation about Violence. Gender & Society, 15(1), 83-109. Klein, J. (2006). Cultural Capital and High School Bullies: How Social Inequality Impacts School Violence. Men and Masculinities, 9(1), 53-75. Messerschmitt, J. W. (2009). Goodbye to the Sex-Gender Distinction, Hello to Embodied Gender: On Masculinities, Bodies, and Violence. In A. L. Ferber, K. Holcomb & T. Wentling (Eds.), Sex, Gender, and Sexuality: The New Basics: An Anthology (pp. 71- 88). New York: Oxford University Press.
Sexual assault is the act of sexual intercourse without consent of the other person according to New South Wales Consolidation Act of 1900 (Austlii 2011) and is also described by the Australian Standard Offence Classification as ‘non-consensual’ acts or intents of sexual nature (ASOC 2008, p. 31) has become one of the most predominate crimes creating social harm in Australia. Social harm is defined as the negative influence through consequences impacting from the individual to the living conditions of the surrounding public (Cain & Howe 2008, p. 26). Sexual assault poses a social threat to all aspects of community, spreading insecurity in the 9000 victims across Australia and 1900 victims in NSW alone as indicated in the Australian Bureau of Statistics Crime Victimisation Report (ABS 2011, p. 40). This is supported by the victimization rate of all sexually assaulted victims between ages 10 to 14 being 4 times greater than all the other age groups (ABS 2010). Another major issue within the boundaries of sexual assault is that it holds one of the lowest prosecution rates with only 1 in 10 incidents able to prosecute the offender as guilty (Fitzgerald 2006, Pg. 1). The abundance of statistics and reports conducted all imply that sexual assault is still a predominate issue of crime within Australia.
Burton, D. L. (2003). Male adolescents: Sexual victimization and subsequent sexual abuse. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 20(4), 277-296.
Burton, D. & Smith-Darden, J., North American Survey of Sexual Abuser Treatment and Models 2000, Brandon, VT: Safer Society Foundation, 2001.
One form of infringement upon an individual’s natural rights is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is an unfortunate reality in our society, and can be considered the ultimate form of torture, as there are several layers of physical, mental, and emotional damage. Sexual abuse can be defined as unwanted sexual contact in a situation involving at least two parties consisting of the victim and the offender. Some types of sexual abuse include unwanted light contact, such as kissing or touching; threatening or pressuring a person into sexual activity; molestation, regardless of child or adult; and violent sexual activity or rape (“What is Sexual Abuse”). There is prominent data supporting the prevalence of sexual abuse in the U.S, along with media attention of later confessions of both victims and perpetrators shows that the iss...
The statistics clearly show a group of people who’re affected by the heinous acts of sexual assault. Everyone knows that sexual assault isn’t a topic that’s on the top of the list to talk about; people usually even try to go as far as to hide it or to cover it up. Though, it’s clear for certain; covering something up doesn’t make it alright – It won’t make it go away and the problem is still there. For that exact fact, it is the very reason that sexual assault is something that needs to be brought to the
Often when people hear the word rape they automatically think male perpetrator and female victim, but men are victims too. At least ten percent of all rape victims are males, that’s equivalent to one out of every thirty-three american males.("Rape crisis center") Even today, even after the definition of rape being changed, there is still a stigma when people hear about men being rape victims. The male victim often feels weak for having been a victim of rape, something he did not choose and could not control. It is more common for male victims to be raped by another male, however females have raped males as well. Over eighty-six percent of all male victims are raped by another male.("Campus advocacy network") Men are even less willing to report their rape if their rapist was a female, because society tells men that they are the more dominant gender.
Sexual Assault described in technical terms is defined as any sort of sexual activity between two or more people in which one of the people involved is involved against his or her will. (3) The description of "against his or her will" extends to varying degrees of aggression, ranging from indirect pressure to a direct physical attack. According to the Crime Victim Research and Treatment Center 1.3 adult women are sexually assaulted in the United States every minute. (1) Of these assaults 84% of the attacks occur by someone the victim knows. The Senate Judiciary Committee the United States sighted the United States as having the highest rate of sexual assaults per capita in the world. (1) Unfortunately the majority of sexual assaults that occur against women go unreported. Only 31% of sexual assaults that occurred in 1996 were reported to law enforcement authorities. (1) The problem of sexual assault is increasing. In the year 2000 the number of sexual assaults against women had increased by 16.5%. (1) A woman's reaction to sexual assault can vary. Feelings of guilt, being ashamed, intense anger, and denial are common. In addition a woman can feel stigmatized by those around her and her community.
Nicksa, Sarah C. 2013. “Bystander’s Willingness to Report Theft, Physical Assault, and Sexual Assault: The impact of Gender, Anonymity, and Relationship With the Offender.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 29(2):217-236.
In fact, in between 9-10% of all rape survivors outside of criminal institutions are male (U.S. Department of Justice, 1994; TAAS, 2014). Furthermore, estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease control (2005) reported that 16% of men experienced sexual abuse by the age of 18. These reports are also thought to be underestimates due to the barriers male survivors face in the reporting process: the U.S. Department of Justice records an average of greater than 12,000 reported sexual assaults of men annually, and predicts that if unreported assaults are included, the actual number of men who are sexually assaulted in the United States each year is approximately 60,000 (U.S. Department of Justice, 1994). Furthermore, while these numbers incorporate just guys beyond 12 years old, the Department of Justice records that a male's time of most serious danger of rape is age 4. It is imperative to note, in any case, that not very many reviews have been done to archive the sexual mishandle or rape of men and young men. Besides, it is assessed that male survivors report rape and manhandle even less as often as possible than female survivors, thus it is hard to make an exact gauge of the quantity of men and young men who are being ambushed and mishandled (Dube,
Finding a way to cope after victimization can be one of the most challenging things to get through. Littleton and Breitkopf (2006) found that Negative sequelae that victims experience following rape may affect the coping strategies victims utilize (p.107). Negative stimuli can be related to how the police treat the victim after the rape or it can be the responses of others after disclosing the rape. Many victims suffer from self-blame they mention things like “I shouldn’t have gone out that late by myself.” Victims often find one of the best way to cope with victimization is counseling. Rape crisis counseling helps victims find a safe way to cope. They began by hearing the victim 's story so they can understand what type of treatment the victim needs. Male victims are less likely to seek help from counseling because of the shame and embarrassment they feel. Turner and Light (2010) found that majority of male survivors do not participate in counseling and those who seek help often do so long after the sexual assault or rape took place (p.256). Male victims are more hostile, angry, and depressed immediately after rape than female victims. That also relates to why men are less likely to report being victimized because they feel they will be judged and their masculinity make come into question. Since male rape often goes unrecognized there is a lack of services available for male survivors. So there is also a lack in knowing exactly how to cope in a positive way after sexual
Sexual assault is the most underreported wrongdoing in America. One out of each six women in America has been victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Rape is a vicious and intolerable wrongdoing that effects the lives of victims contrarily, influencing them in a passionate, mental, and physical way. Rape against our more youthful ladies is turning into a serious concern. More youthful individuals are at the most noteworthy danger of sexual brutality; ages 12-34 are the most elevated hazard a very long time for assault and rape. Young ladies are excessively casualties of abusive behavior at home and assault. Nobody ever requests to be assaulted, or mishandled, or bothered, accordingly rape is dependably the blame of the attacker,
Every 98 seconds, someone is being sexually assaulted, and for every 8 minutes, that victim is a child. Sexual abuse or assault can happen anywhere, from inside the home, to a college campus, or in the workplace. Sexual assault is a more prevalent problem then society realizes because many cases remain unreported. The stigma against reporting sexual assault needs to be eliminated in order to bring a reduction to this societal problem. Many factors play into sexual assault, like alcohol or drugs or just being an a abusive relation with a boyfriend or girlfriend or even a family member or friend.
For many, the term “child sexual abuse” entails physical contact bestowed upon a child in a sexually predatory manner. While this assumption is not incorrect, many do not realise how broad the term actually is. Sexual abuse encompasses: sexual acts between two people when one is much more powerful, forcing or persuading one to engage in any sexual activity, and non physical acts such as voyeurism, exhibitionism, and verbal communication.(Townsend, C., & Rheingold, A.A., 2013)
Sexual assault is an offense that plagues many U.S. citizens. Although some studies show that rape is on the decline, other studies report that the phenomena actually occuring is that less rape victims are reporting the crime. In fact, approximately 68% of sexual assaults go unreported to the police according to the U.S. Department of Justice in a National Crime Victimization Survey from 2008-2012. It is common knowledge that rape victims are usually severely traumatized after the event, which leaves them susceptible to various emotions such as shame, anxiety, numbness, fear, denial, and guilt. Because of this, many rape victims decide to repress their experience and let it go unheard. However, not only does this prevent them from healing emotionally,
“Every 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. And every 8 minutes, that victim is a child. Meanwhile, only 6 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up behind bars.” (Rainn) While these statistics are scary to look at, it is very difficult to measure the magnitude of this crime accurately due to the lack of reports. Rape is one of the most underreported crimes. “In 2002, only thirty-nine percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law officials.” (Sexual Violence: Fact Sheet.) Sexual violence in the United States is not an issue, but an epidemic in many ways, it is extremely hard for victims to come forward, perpetrators of sexual violence are rarely punished, and there is cultural and political ignorance of the problem.