xvi Introduction gay. In fact, GQ magazine undertook to report on the subject in a long form article in 2014 entitled “Son, Men Don’t Get Raped.” In surveys and studies, military men often report that they considered the acts to be “hazing.” Many men who have been sexually assaulted indicate that the acts were intended to humiliate them. In addition, military culture has a definite power structure, and those within it are taught to obey authority. Sexual acts are often demanded as a show of power. A 2015 U.S. Government Accountability Office report on sexual assaults on male military service members described a common scenario: . . .victim advocates and prosecutors at one installation described a series of esca- lating incidents that began with hitting the victim in the crotch, then throwing objects at the victim’s crotch, and ultimately then saying the hazing would stop if the victim performed oral sex on the assailants. These service officials added that training on hazing-type activities and their relationship to sexual assault would be particularly beneficial to males in that it might lead to increased reporting and fewer inappropriate incidents. However, they stated that they have not seen this addressed in the training. (Government Accountability Office 2015, 47) Throughout the world, LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) individuals face greater risks of sexual violence. In some cases, the cases are reported as hate crimes as with all sexual violence crimes, though, the victims often do not report them. In the case of LGBTQ individuals, there may also be fears of gender orientation or sexual orientation being revealed. RAINN reports that 21 percent “of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) college students have been sexually assaulted, compared to 18% of non-TGQN females, and 4% of non-TGQN males” (Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics 2017). Worldwide, some LGBTQ individuals are raped in hate crimes known as “corrective rape.” The United Nations has spoken out against hate crimes and transphobia and homophobia in such documents as the 2008 UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Prisoners are another group that faces a higher chance of sexual violence. Prisoners are at risk from both inmates and staff. Efforts have been made within the United States to address the problem, but inmates are often fearful of reporting rape because they fear retaliation by staff or other prisoners. All sexual contact between incarcerated men and women and staff is illegal. Even if a prisoner agrees to sexual activity, the power that a prison staff member has over an inmate makes the act coercive. RAINN estimates that annually 80,600 prisoners experience sexual violence, and that in 60 percent of the cases the perpetrator is a jail or prison staff member (Victims of Sexual Violence: Statis- tics n.d.). LGBTQ prisoners, those with mental health problems, minors, and those who seem vulnerable are most likely to be targets of sexual violence.
Previous Page Next Page