The big “R”
No, this R is not implicating respect, quite the opposite, in reality, it’s rape.
Rape’s literal definition states, “unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent,” The key points in this, is the familiarity with women’s rape cases, but men are neglected to be mentioned. Why are men so excluded in the equation of rape unless it is the rapist complex they are portrayed as. There is so much depravity regarding men that we need to stop allowing men to be the perpetrators in this game of gender bias.
Throughout time men have been raped, but it was ignored. When women get raped it is taken like a murder case, this discrepancy regarding rape is absolutely shameful. Annually 1 in 33 men are raped, and that is just the amount reported. Rape in prison is not included in this statistic, however, 100,000 to 140,000 men are raped annually in prisons according to the Human Rights Watch Statistics. In Stockton, CA alone, there is only one safe house for rape victims. This organization not-so-surprisingly is named “Women’s center youth and family services”. There are also little to no court advocacy programs for men. There seems to be little to no aid for men to reach out to.
In an article on colorlines, a news website, one particular person states, “Umm. So, yeah. By definition, males can’t be “raped,” just “assaulted.” Because they’re too, er, umm, vagina-less to be forced into an overtly violent sexual act?” While many people can agree that there are rape cases against men in which they were not penetrated, this does not instantly conclude as a non-rape situation. While penetration may or may not have occurred, it was still forced upon a man and therefore should be treated as a rape case. What people fail to realize, is that men should not be encouraged to have a sense of bravado, in any situation, especially rape. It seems to be a problem when perversion is needed to give insight on serious issues such as male’s rape.
The key points in all of this, is that men and women are both equal. Rape happens frequently. This does not perpetuate a rape culture nor does it justify the fact that men are scapegoats in rape cases. Many forget that men can be victims too. Some men are too afraid to speak out because of the stigmatization regarding men’s rape, but if more valuable research is done on it, and more acknowledgement occurs, then there can be some sort of equal border regarding rape.
