Researching the Provision of Service to Rape Victims by Specially Trained Police Officers: The Influence of Gender––An Exploratory Study

The current study of the specialist police response to male rape survivors focused on Sexual Offenses Investigative Technique (SOIT) officers to explore whether a differential level of service is influenced by an officer's and/or victim's gender. Data on both police and male and female rape survivors were comparatively analyzed using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. Key issues that emerged included: (1) Rape victims reported a lack of confidence in the judicial system; this was more apparent in male survivors' responses and was one of the factors that informed their decision whether or not to report their victimization. (2) Both male and female rape victims demonstrate a gender preference for female SOIT officers, which reinforces the historical approach within the police force to encourage females to apply for such positions. Tis practice suggests a reliance on gender stereotypes as heuristics to assess the likelihood of the empathy and sensitivity of the SOIT officer's response. (3) Finally, few male rape victims reported their victimization, and those who did frequently experienced a gendered response that was often negative and could delay their recovery process. Recommendations are also made regarding best practice in SOIT officer training.

Download Full-text

#Me(n)Too? Online Social Support Toward Male and Female Survivors of Sexual Victimization

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520905095 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052090509

Author(s):

Hila Lowenstein-Barkai

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Gender Stereotypes ◽

Sexual Victimization ◽

Recovery Process ◽

Self Disclosure ◽

Male And Female ◽

Online Social Support ◽

Female Survivors ◽

Physical Gestures ◽

To Receive

Much has been written about the difficulty of sexual victimization survivors to disclose their experiences to others and about the crucial role social support play in their recovery process. However, the vast majority of the literature has focused on face-to-face interactions, while in recent years, more and more victims are turning to online self-disclosure, whether privately or as part of proactive network protests such as the #MeToo hashtag campaign. The few existing studies that examined online responses to disclosures of sexual victimization have focused on female survivors only and didn’t examine whether men and women elicit different responses based on gender stereotypes. The current study addresses this lacuna through a quantitative content analysis of 2,635 responses to 734 self-disclosures of male and female survivors of sexual victimization published on Facebook and Twitter during the first 3 weeks of the #MeToo and #WhyIDidntReport protests in Israel (October 2017 and October 2018, respectively). The findings indicate that social networks, despite some of their affordances, such as lack of eye contact or physical gestures, are supportive environments for survivors of sexual victimization of both sexes. However, women who self-disclose online are more likely to receive emotional support and network support, whereas men are more likely to receive retributive support—a new support type that was found in the current study. The conclusion is that users’ reactions to sexual victimization disclosures are mainly supportive but are also affected by gender stereotypes. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Download Full-text

Can’t Hear or Won’t Hear: Gender, Sexualities and Reporting Male Rape

interalia: a journal of queer studies ◽

10.51897/interalia/fgbq1083 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 31-53

Author(s):

Aliraza Javaid

Keyword(s):

Police Officers ◽

Justice System ◽

Third Sector ◽

Primary Data ◽

Rape Victims ◽

Male Victims ◽

Male Rape ◽

The Third ◽

Voluntary Agency ◽

Gender Theories

Drawing on heteronormativity and hegemonic masculinity, this paper seeks to unravel the issue of the underreporting of male rape to the police and to the third sector. Critically examining the issue of male sexual victimisation will provide a fuller understanding of it within the police and third sector context. Underpinned by gender theories and concepts and the framework of heteronormativity, I argue that male victims of rape are reticent to engage with the police and voluntary agency practitioners because of hostile, sexist and homophobic reactions, attitudes, and appraisal, particularly from other men in these agencies within England to police masculinities and sexualities. I draw on primary data of police officers and voluntary agency practitioners (n = 70) to illustrate the ways wherein gender and sexualities norms and beliefs affect and shape their understanding and view of men as victims of rape. The data suggests that, when male rape victims report their rape, they are susceptible to a ‘fag discourse’, whereby the police and voluntary agency practitioners are likely to perpetuate language to suggest that the victims are not ‘real’ men, intensifying their reluctance to report and to engage with the criminal justice system. Thus, the police and voluntary agency practitioners’, particularly male workers, masculinities are strengthened through emasculating male rape victims.

Download Full-text

Theorising vulnerability and male sexual victimisation

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology ◽

10.1177/0004865817723955 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 51 (3) ◽

pp. 454-470 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aliraza Javaid

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

Police Officers ◽

Gay And Bisexual Men ◽

Primary Data ◽

Bisexual Men ◽

Rape Victims ◽

Male Rape ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Academic Context ◽

And Bisexual

This UK study is about perceptions and constructions of male rape among police officers and agency practitioners. This paper seeks to particularly understand and explain the relationship between vulnerability and male sexual victimisation in the UK. It employs gender and sexualities frameworks to elucidate the connection between vulnerability and male rape, offering primary data (N = 70). The data consist of police officers and voluntary agency practitioners. I aim to make sense of male rape discourse through the participants’ voices since they intimately serve male rape victims/offenders on a one-to-one basis. Because of the lack of male rape research specifically looking at this nuanced area that I seek to explore, this paper will attempt to open up a dialogue regarding male rape not only in an academic context but also in a policy and practice context. This paper also offers suggestions for policy and practice to better deal with male rape victims and to tackle gender inequality and injustice both in a social and criminal justice context. Ultimately, I argue that male rape is often mistakenly considered as a ‘homosexual issue’, so gay and bisexual men who have been raped are regarded as unmasculine or, in other words, not ‘real’ men. Myths and misconceptions of male rape have serious implications for the way societies, the criminal justice system and the voluntary sector view and treat these victims.

Download Full-text

Police Officers’ Collaboration With Rape Victim Advocates: Barriers and Facilitators

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-12-00044 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 681-696 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Karen Rich ◽

Patrick Seffrin

Keyword(s):

Police Officers ◽

Best Practice ◽

Formal Training ◽

Rape Victims ◽

Criminal Cases ◽

Personal Variables ◽

Victim Advocates ◽

Role Confusion ◽

And Training

Secondary victimization may occur when rape victims make police reports. This can compromise the quality of official statements and jeopardize criminal cases. Rape reporters receive better treatment by police officers when advocates are involved and best practice police work includes such collaboration. Studies of advocates have described tension, role confusion, and poor communication with police officers. Many variables, including rape myth acceptance (RMA) and training on sexual assault dynamics, may affect officers’ collaboration with advocates. There were 429 police officers who responded to a survey measuring their victim interviewing skill, formal training about rape, years on the job, number of victims known personally, number of recent rape cases, RMA, and collaboration with advocates. Results suggest that officers’ interviewing skill, years on the job, and specific training are related to collaboration with victim advocates on rape cases. Professional, rather than personal, variables were most predictive of collaboration. Implications for officer selection and training are explored.

Download Full-text

Writing the Male Rape Survivor

Writing the Survivor ◽

10.3828/liverpool/9781942954835.003.0006 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 189-226

Author(s):

Robin E. Field

Keyword(s):

Social Activism ◽

First Century ◽

Rape Victims ◽

Male Victims ◽

Male Rape ◽

Female Victims ◽

Rape Survivors ◽

High Profile ◽

Women And Girls ◽

Rape Survivor

The rise of the rape novel featuring female victims inspired the telling of more stories about male rape victims. Just as the early stories about the sexual assault of women portrayed rape as nonexistent, inconsequential, or the fault of the women and girls themselves, the stories of male rape often have belittled the victims and position the male rape victim as an object of derision, scorn, and even amusement. As the revelations of several high-profile sexual abuse cases early in the twenty-first century brought to light the plight of young boys being assaulted by trusted older men, male victims are now being treated with the concern and sympathy that women experienced in the 1970s. The political activism inherent in the rape novel—educating its readers, offering community to the victims, and encouraging social activism and change to societal attitudes—will continue as the stories of male rape survivors are told in greater numbers.

Download Full-text

‘Walking on egg shells’

The Police Journal Theory Practice and Principles ◽

10.1177/0032258x16677357 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 90 (3) ◽

pp. 228-245 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aliraza Javaid

Keyword(s):

Police Officers ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Attrition Rate ◽

State Agencies ◽

Rape Victims ◽

Male Rape ◽

Poor Treatment ◽

Egg Shells ◽

Male Rape Myths ◽

Rich Data

The aim of this present work is to explore police officers’ experiences and views in respect of male rape. I critically examine the role of the police, and their experiences and perceptions of handling male rape cases. This study presents detailed, in-depth, and rich data from the police in England. The findings are generated from the police, male rape counsellors, male rape therapists and voluntary agency workers. The participants were interviewed and filled out qualitative questionnaires, which were kept anonymous. I ensured that those who were interviewed did not also fill out a questionnaire, as each method addresses issues in a different form. To inform the development of the semi-structured interview schedule and the qualitative questionnaires, I drew on Abdullah-Khan (2008) in order to shape the types of questions that I asked. Overall, this study gained a sample size of 70 participants. In this paper, I solely focus on state agencies’ responses and attitudes toward male rape. From the findings, five distinct themes emerged: (1) level of communications between officers and victims; (2) perpetuation of male rape myths and stereotypes by judges and juries; (3) lack of evidence in male rape cases; (4) attrition in male rape cases; and (5) issues of consent in male rape cases. There are serious concerns in terms of how the criminal justice system deals with male rape victims, resulting not only in poor treatment of the victims, but also increasing the attrition rate and decreasing the conviction rate in male rape cases. I attempt to tackle poor police practice herein.

Download Full-text

The Unknown Victims: Hegemonic Masculinity, Masculinities, and Male Sexual Victimisation

Sociological Research Online ◽

10.5153/sro.4155 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 28-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Aliraza Javaid

Keyword(s):

Police Officers ◽

Hegemonic Masculinity ◽

Rape Victims ◽

Male Rape ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Gender Expectations ◽

Male Sexual Assault ◽

Gender Hierarchy ◽

Masculinity Crisis ◽

Voluntary Agencies

This paper adopts the theoretical framework of hegemonic masculinity to elucidate and make sense of male sexual victimisation. Critically evaluating the empirical data, which comprises of police officers and practitioners in voluntary agencies (N = 70), that this paper offers, I argue that gender expectations, hegemonic masculinities and sexism prevail in societies, state and voluntary agencies. It has been found that, because male rape victims embody subordinate masculinities, they are marginalised as ‘abnormal’ and ‘deviant’. They are, in other words, classified as the ‘other’ for challenging and contradicting hegemonic masculinity, disrupting the gender order of men. Consequently, male sexual victimisation is not taken seriously in services, policy and practice, whilst the victims of this crime type are relegated in the gender hierarchy. As a result, male rape victims suffer a ‘masculinity crisis’ in the context of male rape. This paper attempts to open up a dialogue regarding male rape and male sexual assault, to challenge hegemonic masculinity, and to bring male rape ‘out of the closet’.

Download Full-text

Macho Nachos

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000226 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 182-196 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Luke (Lei) Zhu ◽

Victoria L. Brescoll ◽

George E. Newman ◽

Eric Luis Uhlmann

Keyword(s):

Gender Stereotypes ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Food Preferences ◽

Healthy Food ◽

Psychological Reactance ◽

Unhealthy Food ◽

Healthy Foods ◽

Gender Schema ◽

Male And Female ◽

Schema Congruity

Abstract. The present studies examine how culturally held stereotypes about gender (that women eat more healthfully than men) implicitly influence food preferences. In Study 1, priming masculinity led both male and female participants to prefer unhealthy foods, while priming femininity led both male and female participants to prefer healthy foods. Study 2 extended these effects to gendered food packaging. When the packaging and healthiness of the food were gender schema congruent (i.e., feminine packaging for a healthy food, masculine packaging for an unhealthy food) both male and female participants rated the product as more attractive, said that they would be more likely to purchase it, and even rated it as tasting better compared to when the product was stereotype incongruent. In Study 3, packaging that explicitly appealed to gender stereotypes (“The muffin for real men”) reversed the schema congruity effect, but only among participants who scored high in psychological reactance.

Download Full-text