Male Rape and Human Rights

For the last few decades, the prevailing approach to sexual violence in international human rights instruments has focused virtually exclusively on the abuse of women and girls. In the meantime, sexual violence against males continues to flourish in prisons, men have been abused and sexually humiliated during situations of armed conflict, the sexual abuse of boys remains alarmingly common, and gay male victims of sexual assault are assumed to have asked for it. This Article discusses the frequency of male rape and the various contexts in which in occurs. It notes, however, that numerous instruments in the human rights canon address sexual violence while explicitly excluding male victims. It argues that the female-specific approach is best understood in the political context in which these international instruments were developed: women\u27s issues were historically ignored in international law, and violence against women emerged as the salient issue around which attention to women\u27s human rights would revolve. The Article makes the case, however, that to continue this approach to sexual violence, in light of evidence that males constitute a small but sizable percentage of victims, is problematic. It reinforces hierarchies that treat some victims as more sympathetic than others, perpetuates norms that essentialize women as victims, and imposes unhealthy expectations about masculinity on men and boys. The Article argues that, paradoxically, neglecting male rape is bad for women and girls. Finally, it outlines the impact that the female-specific approach to rape has in practice and points to other rights frameworks and areas of international law that illustrate the potential for more inclusive approaches

Lifting the curtain of silence: Survivors speak of rape behind bars

In the struggle to end sexual violence behind bars, personal stories of abuse serve as an important advocacy tool for organizations such as Stop Prisoner Rape (SPR). The first-person accounts of men and women who have endured this abuse help to personalize, and thereby, humanize the issue. Statistics about the frequency of prisoner rape are powerful, but they can also be numbing, conveying the sense that nothing can be done to stop the problem. Personal accounts in contrast, have an emotional impact that encourages action. Speaking out about abuse also helps survivors, freeing them from a sense of shame, guilt, and humiliation and providing an avenue of political engagement that can be tremendously empowering. This article presents the first-persona accounts of four individuals whose lives were powerfully affected by rape behind bars

The Sexual Victimization of Men in America: New Data Challenge Old Assumptions

We assessed 12-month prevalence and incidence data on sexual victimization in 5 federal surveys that the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted independently in 2010 through 2012. We used these data to examine the prevailing assumption that men rarely experience sexual victimization. We concluded that federal surveys detect a high prevalence of sexual victimization among men—in many circumstances similar to the prevalence found among women. We identified factors that perpetuate misperceptions about men’s sexual victimization: reliance on traditional gender stereotypes, outdated and inconsistent definitions, and methodological sampling biases that exclude inmates. We recommend changes that move beyond regressive gender assumptions, which can harm both women and men

Men, HIV/AIDS, and human rights.

Though still limited in scale, work with men to achieve gender equality is occurring on every continent and in many countries. A rapidly expanding evidence base demonstrates that rigorously implemented initiatives targeting men can change social practices that affect the health of both sexes, particularly in the context of HIV and AIDS. Too often however, messages only address the harm that regressive masculinity norms cause women, while neglecting the damage done to men by these norms. This article calls for a more inclusive approach which recognizes that men, far from being a monolithic group, have unequal access to health and rights depending on other intersecting forms of discrimination based on race, class, sexuality, disability, nationality, and the like. Messages that target men only as holders of privilege miss men who are disempowered or who themselves challenge rigid gender roles. The article makes recommendations which move beyond treating men simply as "the problem", and instead lays a foundation for engaging men both as agents of change and holders of rights to the ultimate benefit of women and men. Human rights and other policy interventions must avoid regressive stereotyping, and successful local initiatives should be taken to scale nationally and internationally