'Violence is as American as cherry pie,' proclaimed Black power advocate H. Rap Brown in the 1960s. The latest research from the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association appears to bear that out.
Sexual assault where males are the victims rather than the perpetrators is one of the least reported crimes and least studied subjects of research. The literature suggests that 1 in 33 adult males have been the victim of attempted or completed rape at some point in their lifetimes. However, such assaults are underreported and most studies are based on the most severe cases that require medical attention.
A new study suggests the real rate is three times higher. Virginia Commonwealth University researcher Saba Masho led a team that conducted an in-depth telephone survey of 705 adult men in Virginia.
It found a lifetime prevalence of sexual assault of 12.9 percent and a 0.1 percent rate of victimization within the previous 12 months. She said the mean age when the assault occurred was 12, with the majority occurring between 12 and 17.
'The majority were single events by one person, followed by multiple events by the same person.' Surprisingly, 'nearly 40 percent were victimized by females.' Less surprising was that nearly 75 percent of the perpetrators were older than 18 and nearly 80 percent were known to the victim. Sexual assault and victimization is most likely to occur in the home, regardless of the gender of the victim.
While 58.2 percent of the victims reported talking to someone about the assault, most did not speak with a person in authority. Only 15.4 percent spoke with a counselor; 6.6 percent with the police; 2.2 percent with a doctor; and 2.2 percent with a hotline.
'Men who were sexually assaulted were 3.4 times more likely to be depressed and 2.4 times more likely to experience suicidal ideation than those who were not assaulted,' Masho said.
Other research suggests that young males who do not fit the masculine stereotype are at greater risk for sexual assault. Masho said they initially sought to include questions of sexual orientation and identity in the survey, but those questions were deleted by the university's ethical review board.
Another study, this one among 627 ninth graders in northeast Georgia, found high rates of physical violence within heterosexual dating relationships. The work by University of Georgia researcher Pamela Orphinas stratified the students into four groups based upon their reported activity over the last three months; not dated ( 35 percent ) , dated with no victimization ( 29 percent ) , dated with psychological victimization ( 16 percent ) , and dated and physical victimization ( 20 percent ) .
'Physical victimization was higher among the boys ( 61 percent ) ,' while the girls ( 69 percent ) were more likely to report psychological victimization, she said.
Later in focus groups they learned that dating norms in general 'did not allow violence from boys to girls, but there was much more support of violence from girls to boys; that was much more acceptable.' Orphinas said there was a 'soap opera-ish' quality to it, 'It is as if they are expecting it. … The norms are quite different' in terms of what is acceptable from a boy or a girl.
