Rape has become one of the biggest issues in society today. When most people think of rape, they think of a female being the victim. In most cases, it is. News stories constantly show images of young women who suffer from rape daily. But what about men? There never seems to be stories about men being raped. Society doesn’t think sexual assault happens to men, however, statistics on RAINN show that one in thirty-three men have been raped. This rape can happen by assault from a male or a female. Most male rapes occur in the gay community. Do we hear about that though? No. This is because people have dubbed it a “gay issue’ and don’t want to report on it. According to psychologist Dr. Sarah Crome, fewer than 1 in 10 male-male rapes are reported. People are afraid to bring male-male rape into light because of the backlash they fear they will get. However, rape is never ok. No matter if you’re female, male, gay or straight. Female on male rape occurs as well. Stats show that one in twenty-one males have been forced to have sex with a women. They are usually pressured by friends or the female. No matter the situation, men need to have their stories about sexual assault in the public as well. Some men feel like rape is a female issue and they shouldn’t talk about it, but they need to speak up. Society needs to know that everyone suffers from sexual assault, on the daily, and it is nothing to laugh at or make jokes about. The more men who share their stories hopefully will inspire other young men to come out and talk about their experiences. In the future, I hope to see rape culture die completely, but I know that won’t happen while victims continue to keep quiet due to fear. Hopefully though, more men will come out and show that sexual assault could happen to anyone, and share ways to protect yourselves and put an end to it.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual violence, check out Jake’s article to find out who to call
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