Social Constructions of Masculinity and Male Survivors of Wartime Sexual Violence: an Analytical Review

Abstract

Male sexual violence has been reported in 25 armed conflicts in recent years. However, communities and organizations are not equipped to deal with male survivors of sexual violence because it undermines the ideals of social constructions of masculinity. Compared with females, male survivors lack access to reproductive health programs and are generally ignored in gender-based violence discourse. Yet, male survivors are known to suffer from numerous physical injuries and psychosocial disorders. In this review, we call for a move beyond the paradigm of female-only sexual violence victims and for programs that address both male and female survivors.

Gender-Based Violence Against Men and Boys in Darfur

“…Notably, these forms of violence also have been reported in other studies (Gingerich and Leaning 2004;S. Martin 2007;Onyango and Hampanda 2011). Proximate victimization, or witnessing violence perpetrated against others, often accompanied primary victimization.…”

Male and LGBT survivors of sexual violence in conflict situations: a realist review of health interventions in low-and middle-income countries

“…Sexual violence against men and boys has often been recognised as torture, mutilation or degrading treatment [8,9,12], omitting the gendered and sexual aspects of these abuses [6,13]. Acts of sexual violence against men and boys include anal and oral rape and other forms of victimisation, including gang rape, enforced sterilisation, mutilation, castration, blunt trauma to genitals, forced nudity, forced masturbation, forced rape perpetration, and forced witness to sexual violence against family members or peers [2,3,12,14,15]. This sexual violence can occur in many settings, including detention centres, military sites, refugee camps and people's homes during and after conflict [16,17].…”

Male Directed Sexual Violence in Conflict: A Challenge for Gender Studies

“…While Banwell (2014, p. 56) purports to offer readers an analysis of sexual violence in eastern DRC at macro, meso, and micro levels, the author makes no reference to Johnson's 2010 article, the first of its kind to report a figure as high as 23% for male victims, or to other scholarly work reporting on high rates of male victimization in eastern DRC (e.g., Carpenter, 2006;Marinussen, 2010;Onyango & Hampanda, 2011;Storr, 2011). Readers are simply provided with an endnote that "men are also targeted…" In her analysis of wartime sexual violence in the DRC, Rowaan (2011) is justified, then, in referring to men as the "invisible victims."…”

“…Now, in our own day, more documentation than ever before is becoming available regarding MDSV. Onyango and Hampanda (2011) cite credible documentation of male directed sexual violence from 25 armed conflicts in recent years, and they assert that male survivors of sexual violence suffer many psychosocial disorders and physical injuries. Sivakumaran (2010, p. 264) shows that during the two-year period 2007-2009, rape and sexual mutilation were inflicted upon men and boys in the Central African Republic, Chechnya, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Iran, and Kenya.…”

“…n recent years, issues surrounding male-directed sexual violence (hereafter MDSV) have gained increased interest among scholars who adopt a masculinities studies perspective (e.g., Andersen, 2008;Carpenter, 2006;Dolan, 2009;Gottschall, 2004;Graham, 2006;Jones, 2009;Ó'Móchain, 2016;Onyango & Hampanda, 2011;Sivakumaran, 2010). Readers of this journal will note that Javaid (2015) showed the extent to which male victims of sexual violence must contend with a range of "rape myths" which hinder the provision of badly-needed assistance.…”