Big Boys Don’t Cry: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis of Male Sexual Victimization

Abstract

Sexual victimization is typically presented as a gender-based problem involving a female victim and a male offender. Science, policy, and society focus on female victims at the expense of male victims. Male sexual victimization is thus understudied compared with female sexual victimization. By performing a critical interpretive synthesis of research papers, policy documents, and gray literature ( N = 67) published in four electronic databases from January 2000 through September 2017, this article establishes the prevalence of male sexual victims and the causes that underlie the underrepresentation of this group in existing research and current policy. The prevalence rates of male sexual victims vary considerably, with up to 65% of men reporting sexual victimization. The underrepresentation of male victims was found to be rooted in prevailing gender roles and accepted sexual scripts in society, together with rape myths and stereotypical rape scripts. The former prescribes men as the dominant and sexually active gender. The latter denies male sexual victimization and frames women as “ideal victims.” Combined, these prevailing societal perceptions of men, male sexuality, and sexual victimization prevent men from self-identifying as victims and inhibit them from seeking help to cope with the adverse consequences of sexual victimization. Addressing the gender differences in sexual victimization requires societal and political changes that challenge prevailing stereotypical perceptions of sexual victims. Such changes could result in improved support services for male sexual victims.

Gendered Perceptions of Sexual Abuse: Investigating the Effect of Offender, Victim and Observer Gender on the Perceived Seriousness of Child Sexual Abuse

“…Alternatively, the null finding may reflect an erosion of stereotypes surrounding victimization in child sex abuse cases. Traditionally, it is women and girls who are thought of as victims in sexual abuse scenarios (Depraetere, Vandeviver, Beken & Keygnaert, 2018). However, reports of male rape in the media are becoming more common ("Reported Sex Offenses Against Males", 2018).…”

“…Generally, they are viewed as warm and empathetic (Ellemers, 2018). Women also tend to be thought of as the likely victims of sexual crimes rather than the perpetrators (Depraetere, Vandeviver, Beken & Keygnaert, 2018). In contrast, sex offenders are often labelled as being "violent, predatory male(s)" (King & Roberts, 2015).…”

“…In general, crimes perpetrated against female victims are judged as more serious than crimes against male victims, and this is related to stereotypical views that are held about women. They tend to be seen as the victims in a sexual assault scenario, rather than the perpetrators (Depraetere, Vandeviver, Beken & Keygnaert, 2018). This is, in part, because women are more likely to be the victims of sexual crimes.…”

Sexual violence victimisation among university students in Italy: a gendered intersectional quantitative approach

“…Larimer, Lydum, Anderson, and Turner (1999) found, during the 12 months preceding their study, an overall incidence rate of nonconsensual sexual experiences of 20.7% among a sample of university students. More recent research has substantiated the occurrence of the phenomenon of male SVV in different countries (Association of American Universities, 2020; Depraetere, Vandeviver, & Vander, 2018;Hines, 2007;Krahè et al, 2003;Lebugle et al, 2018;Lehrer et al, 2013;Peterson, Voller, Polusny, & Murdoch, 2011).…”

Cumulative lifetime violence severity scale: development and initial testing among men

“…This may be sample-specific; perhaps because having experienced violence was not an inclusion criterion for most of the sample, levels of violence, particularly being targeted as adults for sexual violence, were low for many participants. Reporting experiences of sexual violence is difficult for adult men and possibly hampered by societal perceptions that men do not have non-consensual sexual experiences [40]. At each stage in the development of this measure, we encountered methodological challenges such as lack of variability or low corrected inter-item correlations with items designed to capture sexual violence, but kept the items because sexual violence is a critical conceptual dimension.…”