‘Oh you're a guy, how could you be raped by a woman, that makes no sense’: towards a case for legally recognising and labelling ‘forced-to-penetrate’ cases as rape

Abstract

The existing legal definition of rape in England and Wales is gendered, only recognising men as offenders. The law also only recognises as victims of rape those who are penetrated by a penis, either vaginally, anally or orally. This therefore excludes the female perpetrator–male victim paradigm, and more specifically those cases where male victims are ‘forced to penetrate’ female perpetrators. This paper argues that consideration needs to be given to legally recognising and thus labelling forced-to-penetrate cases as rape. Applying a methodology that draws upon the lived experiences of male victims, it is argued that there are significant similarities between compelled-penetration cases and those cases legally recognised as rape, not only because they both involve non-consensual penile penetration, but because there are clear similarities in the aggressive strategies used by perpetrators and the subsequent harms experienced by victims.

From Coercion to Physical Force: Aggressive Strategies Used by Women Against Men in “Forced-to-Penetrate” Cases in the UK

“…The findings presented here in relation to the use of force contradict most earlier empirical studies, which suggest that women are unlikely to use physical force or violence as an aggressive strategy. Indeed, as noted above, most existing studies have put the rate at which physical force is used by women at between 2 and 10% (Weare, 2018) and it has typically featured as the least frequently used strategy. These findings can be contrasted with this study where 14.4% of the men reported the use of force and 19.6% reported use of force and threats of physical harm combined (see Table 6).…”

“…There is also likely to be a substantial amount of emotional distress experienced by a man under investigation in the context of a false allegation due to the potential stigma and reputational ruin associated with being considered a “rapist” (Levitt & Crown Prosecution Service Equality and Diversity Unit, 2013; Wells, 2015). Societal perceptions around sexual violence perpetrators are only likely to enhance this further, with recognition of men as perpetrators and women as victims much more common than any other victim–perpetrator paradigm (Weare, 2018). This is understandable, with evidence consistently highlighting women as disproportionately experiencing sexual violence from men.…”

“…Justification for this approach has been based on the premise that compelled penetration is less harmful or detrimental to men than rape (see, e.g., Cowan, 2010; Home Office, 2000; Weare, 2018). Therefore, future research on the consequences of compelled penetration for men who experience it would be helpful in considering the need for legal reform.…”

“…These cases involve a man being FTP a woman’s vagina, anus, or mouth using his penis and without his consent (Weare, 2018). The existing legal definitions of rape within the UK exclude FTP cases.…”

“…The shortcomings of the existing research have been acknowledged by several academics, and numerous calls have been made for more studies in this area to be conducted (Fisher & Pina, 2013; Stemple, Flores, & Meyer, 2016; Weare, 2018). As such, this study and the findings presented here begin to address several current gaps in knowledge and understanding relating to: (1) the experiences of men FTP women in the UK and (2) the aggressive strategies used by women in such cases in the UK.…”