Adult Male Victims of Sexual Assault Seek 5 or More Medical Treatments

Stigmas around sexual assault victims often prevent them from seeking much needed treatment to move on with their lives.

Though statistics show that women are more likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault, men who become victims themselves may be even less likely to look for help due to stereotypes surrounding masculinity. And for those that do, the services available are still often geared towards the opposite gender. 

According to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, about 3 percent of American men-or 1 in 33-have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Statistics also show that in 2003, one in every 10 rape victims were male and 2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.

The new study shows that an overwhelming majority, or the equivalent of 90 percent of males who experience this, use five or more services ranging from counseling to medical care and treatment.

"Sexual assault is vastly underreported, and in men, adult sex assault is under researched," the study's lead author and Women's College Research Institute Dr. Janice Du Mont said, according to a press release. "While women generally comprise more than 90 per cent of all reported sex assault cases, it is important to understand the characteristics of male victims and the assaults they experience so that we can be sure we are offering services that meet their full range of needs."

Researchers collected information from 38 males ages 12 and older who used 29 sex assault treatment centers in Ontario over a 12-month period. The authors note that many men came from groups known to be at high risk for assault, including those who were Aboriginal, unemployed, working the sex trade, living on the streets, in a rehab center or in jail, and more than one in 10 had no social support, according to study. About one-third had either a psychiatric or developmental disability, also.

A significant proportion of study participants also reported having been coerced and subjected to physical violence that included strangulation, being gagged, shoved, hit, confined or bit. The study notes that all victims used at least one service that included crisis counselling, testing for sexually transmitted infections, referral for followup care and medical treatment. Approximately 14 percent used one to four services, and around 86 percent used five or more services.

"The results of our study demonstrate a very high use of services by adolescent boys and adult men attending the treatment centres," said the study's co-author Sheila Macdonald, provincial coordinator for the ONSA/DVTCs and clinical manager of Women's College Hospital's Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Care Centre, according to the release. "If these findings are reflective of the level of needs of most male victims, this raises concerns about those who are not coming in for help."

Following the study, the researchers note that gender sensitive care should be more readily available for men who have been sexually assaulted as adolescents or adults.

The findings for the study are published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.