Men are almost always the perpetrators of rape and can often be the victims of the crime, despite some long-held notions to the contrary. Organizations such as Sexual Assault Support Services are attempting to educate and raise awareness that rape is a major men’s issue. Men are becoming aware of the problem of rape and trying to stop it.
It’s a positive trend that people accept that there is sexual assault against males and that they need support just like female victims. Men go through the same terrible shame and humiliation as their female counterparts but are often expected to be tougher and get over those feelings faster. Male-targeted sexual crimes often are not considered “sexual offenses” under the law but, rather, assault cases. This is testament to the old notions that men aren’t often victims of rape.
Groups such as SASS play an important part in challenging those harmful stereotypes and offering a new perspective for those who don’t realize men can be sexual assault victims. Changing any perception is arduous, difficult work that will take tremendous effort from dedicated people, but accepting the idea of men as rape victims could be especially hard because it deals with the social roles of gender.
Most of the male survivors of sexual assault cases who go to SASS were abused as children, as is the case with women. Getting people educated to that fact will ideally help prevent future assaults by making sure child victims of abuse are treated as early as possible.
The classic ideas about male-on-female rape are also changing. While until recently men weren’t expected to do much to prevent rape except not commit the crime themselves, women were expected to take the responsibility of rape prevention and self-defense classes. Those low expectations for men and absurdly high expectations for women in preventing sexual assault are ridiculous and should have their end in sight as signaled by groups such as Men Against Sexism, which tries to focus attention on efforts men can make to stop rape.
The group tries to redefine the classic idea of masculinity and hopes men can be seen as unique individuals who want to share their emotions. They were involved in the Take Back the Night celebration and women’s issues overall. They also claim that more men are showing interest and support for women and the Take Back the Night event.
These are just small first steps in tackling the problem of rape. The efforts by men to take responsibility for the problems of sexual assault, along with raised awareness about the role of men as victims, are noteworthy efforts that should be applauded, and more importantly, continued.