The Forensic Nurse

I was recently asked about a case in which an adult male was raped and during the sexual assault had an ejaculation. Often the topic of male rape is forgotten when we talk about sexual assaults.

While rarely reported, male rapes do actually occur.  Perhaps it is male pride or ego, but reporting statistics for survivors of male sexual assault are even lower than that of women. One FBI statistic estimated that close to 3% of adult males will be raped at some point in their lives.

As for why the reporting statistics are so low, it may be due to the fact that this type of event may be even more shameful and traumatic to men than it is to women. Society in general tells men that in order to be respected and seen as desirable that they must be seen as strong, tough, and powerful.

All the experts agree that rape is almost never about the sex. Its about power and control. Excercising your will over someone elses. Essentially proving that you are the one in control. That you are stronger than the other person.

Bringing this type of shame to a man can be exceptionally devastating to their emotional self concienience. By not being able to fend off an attackers the victim may view himself as weak, undesireable, or even homosexual. 

These feelings of homosexuality can be even more confusing if the victim experiences an erection or even ejaculates. Both of these situations are very common and are often used as tools of shame by an attacker to make the victim think that they wanted or enjoyed being raped. In reality these types of reactions are more physiological than anything.

Often people believe that an erection equals sexual arousal. There are many reasons why a man may experience an erection during a sexual assault. The simple friction of touching the millions of tiny nerve endings on the penis could cause an erection, even if the touch was unwanted or unpleasant.

Being penetrated anally can also cause an involuntary erection. The application of pressure on to the prostate gland from digital, penile, or foreign object insertion to the anus can often cause an erection. Any proctologist will tell you that this type of reaction is very typical while performing a Digital Rectal Exam for prostate screening.  

Bringing the victim to the point of ejaculation is also quite common. Rapists will often make every effort possible to ensure that the victim does ejaculate to add the the feelings of guilt, shame, and homosexuality. This can add another layer of power, and dominance, and even increased pleasure for the rapist for having such control over the other person. Remember in most cases its about power not the actual sex.

o Physical assault is widespread among adults in the United States: 51.9
percent of surveyed women and 66.4 percent of surveyed men said they were physically assaulted as a child by an adult caretaker and/or as an adult by any type of attacker. An estimated 1.9 million women and 3.2 million men are physically assaulted annually in the United States.

o Many American women are raped at an early age: Of the 17.6 percent of all women surveyed who said they had been the victim of a completed or attempted rape at some time in their life, 21.6 percent were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4 percent were ages 12 to 17. Thus, more than half (54 percent) of the female rape victims identified by the survey were younger than age 18 when they experienced their first attempted or completed rape.

o Stalking is more prevalent than previously thought: 8.1 percent of surveyed women and 2.2 percent of surveyed men reported being stalked at some time in their life; 1.0 percent of women surveyed and 0.4 percent of men surveyed reported being stalked in the 12 months preceding the survey. Approximately 1 million women and 371,000 men are stalked annually in the United States.

o American Indian/Alaska Native women and men report more violent
victimization than do women and men of other racial backgrounds: American Indian/Alaska Native women were significantly more likely than white women, African-American women, or mixed-race women to report they were raped. They also were significantly more likely than white women or African-American women to report they were stalked. American Indian/Alaska Native men were significantly more likely than Asian men to report they were physically assaulted.

o Rape prevalence varies between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women:
Hispanic women were significantly less likely than non-Hispanic women to report they were raped at some time in their life.

o There is a relationship between victimization as a minor and subsequent victimization: Women who reported they were raped before age 18 were twice as likely to report being raped as an adult. Women who reported they were physically assaulted as a child by an adult caretaker were twice as likely to report being physically assaulted as an adult. Women who reported they were stalked before age 18 were seven times more likely to report being stalked as an adult.

o Women experience more intimate partner violence than do men: 22.1 percent surveyed women, compared with 7.4 percent of surveyed men, reported they were physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, boyfriend or girlfriend, or date in their lifetime; 1.3 percent of surveyed women and 0.9 percent of surveyed men reported experiencing such violence in the previous 12 months. Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States.

o Violence against women is primarily intimate partner violence: 64.0 percent of the women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, and/or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date. In comparison, only 16.2 percent of the men who reported being raped and/or physically assaulted since age 18 were victimized by such a perpetrator.

o Women are significantly more likely than men to be injured during an assault:
31.5 percent of female rape victims, compared with 16.1 percent of male rape victims, reported being injured during their most recent rape; 39.0 percent of female physical assault victims, compared with 24.8 percent of male physical assault victims, reported being injured during their most recent physical assault.

o The risk of injury increases among female rape and physical assault victims when their assailant is a current or former intimate: Women who were raped or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date were significantly more likely than women who were raped or physically assaulted by other types of perpetrators to report being injured during their most recent rape or physical assault.

o Approximately one-third of injured female rape and physical assault victims receive medical treatment: 35.6 percent of the women injured during their most recent rape and 30.2 percent of the women injured during their most recent physical assault received medical treatment.