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factors that perpetuate misperceptions about men's sexual victimization: reliance on traditional gender stereotypes, outdated and inconsistent definitions, and methodological sampling biases that exclude inmates.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.
Lara Stemple is with the Health and Human Rights Law Project, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Ilan H. Meyer is with the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
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D015982:Bias; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011902:Rape / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology