Something Was Wrong
Data Points: Male Survivors of Sexual Assault (featuring LeRon Barton)
14 Jan 2025
Full Episode
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Hi, friends. It's Leron Barton from leronbarton.com. I'm guest hosting this episode of Broken Cycle Media's new series of educational episodes, Data Points. These special episodes will include educational information, statistics, and support on different topics that are important to our community. Thank you so much for listening.
Before we begin, it's important to understand what constitutes sexual abuse and assault. Psychology today defines sexual abuse as, quote, any sexual activity that occurs without consent. Also referred to as sexual assault or violence, it includes unwanted sexual touching, forced oral sex, rape, among other sexual acts.
When the terms sexual abuse and sexual assault are mentioned, it is the societal norm to instinctively think of women as the typical victims of these crimes. Relatedly, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that in the United States, nearly 52 million women will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, with one in five women reporting attempted or completed rape.
And although the U.S. Department of Justice reports men perpetrate 99% of sexual violence, this does not disclude men from being victims. Sexual violence can and does often happen to men as well, despite a frequent lack of representation in statistics. There's a common notion that men cannot be victims of rape or sexual assault, but I'm here to tell you that is far from the truth.
Today's Data Point episode, we will break down statistics of juvenile and adult male victims of sexual assault, the public perception behind it, the repercussion of trauma endured, and how we can help those who have been impacted by it.
One in Six, an organization that is dedicated to addressing the trauma that men and boys have after sexual assault, reports that one in six boys and men experience abuse or assault in their lives. While many may bristle at this number, One in Six argues that the number could be even more if we count non-contact experiences.
Sadly, the number of male victims of sexual assault and abuse could be greater because of factors like unreported events, delayed reporting, or even the inability to report due to a lack of resources. This is confirmed by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center statistic. Only 43% of men report being a victim of sexual assault and harassment.
There's not one type of perpetrator of sexual assault against boys and men. They come from all walks of life. Whether that be gender, age, ethnicity, or background, it is important to note that according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, otherwise known as RAINN, 93% of juvenile victims know the perpetrator of their sexual abuse.
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