The rape of men

[the_gabih]

Of all the secrets of war, there is one that is so well kept that it exists mostly as a rumour. It is usually denied by the perpetrator and his victim. Governments, aid agencies and human rights defenders at the UN barely acknowledge its possibility. Yet every now and then someone gathers the courage to tell of it. This is just what happened on an

Comments

[dangerousdame]

Stuff like this breaks my heart.

[salienne]

Almost cried repeatedly through this article.

To say more needs to be done to help male victims of sexual violence and to address the causes of this violence is more than just an understatement.

[korinna]

Ignoring male rape not only neglects men, it also harms women by reinforcing a viewpoint that equates 'female' with 'victim', thus hampering our ability to see women as strong and empowered.No, ignoring male rape does not do that. Whether or not we view women as strong and empowered, it's always important to remember that the rape of women, whether it happens during wartime or because of political reasons or whatever else, is rooted in misogynistic ideas that uniquely affect women. While I'm sympathetic to the fact that men are not given the resources or support they need, women deserve--and have earned, since they're the ones who've by and large established NGOs and made war-time rape a political issue--to have their own women/girl-centric mechanisms for dealing with rape

[chasingtides]

Wow. It could be that I find this article incredibly trying and reading it had me in tears from the start, but your response reads heavily of, "Too bad. I guess you need to find your own resources" to other victims.

And even if those other victims don't fit your idea of what a rape victim, they still deserve aid.

Men need to step up and help other men. It's really sad that, for the most part, they don't.

This is a bad comment and you should feel bad.

[korinna]

This article contains a lot more than personal stories, though, so you are focusing on one element. Storr also criticizes NGOs and political legislation, both of which have been heavily influenced by women. I was specifically responding to that.

I didn't say men aren't rape victims or that they don't fit my idea of what a rape victim is. And what? The truth is bad? Men aren't doing activism on the behalf on other men. Implicitly criticizing women for not caring about men's issues, especially without meaningfully engaging with the sexist idea that women are socially/culturally constructed caretakers to men in most societies, is a problem.

[chasingtides]

Did you actually read the same article I did?

These men are actively turned away from resources and are abandoned by family. Saying, "Well, men should just support each other," is a crap statement. It's basically crying "Bootstraps!" at rape victims.

Implicitly criticizing women for not caring about men's issues, especially without meaningfully engaging with the sexist idea that women are socially/culturally constructed caretakers to men in most societies, is a problem.

I think this article clearly points out that rape isn't the issue of one gender. Saying "Well, women should care about women's issues and men should do men's issues and never the twain meet or help each other," is divisive and shitty.

Men aren't doing activism because they're actively being shamed and without resources. When they actively seek out resources, they're rejected. I can't believe you think that's okay and that they should just make their own resources.

[sephystabbity]

Men aren't simply raped, they are forced to penetrate holes in banana trees that run with acidic sap, to sit with their genitals over a fire, to drag rocks tied to their penis, to give oral sex to queues of soldiers, to be penetrated with screwdrivers and sticks. Atim has now seen so many male survivors that, frequently, she can spot them the moment they sit down.

Oh my god, this is so sad. I just can't even imagine going through this =(

Before receiving help from the RLP, one man went to see his local doctor. He told him he had been raped four times, that he was injured and depressed and his wife had threatened to leave him. The doctor gave him a Panadol.

I just. Can't.

[octoberstarlite]

This is horrifying. I actually just finished reading Ross Kemp's first book on gangs and I felt ill reading how many prisoners are victims of male rape in prisons in Cape Town by the numbers gang. This just bought that feeling back ten fold because the detail in this was even worse.