Book Review: Male Victims of Sexual Assault
| Published date | 01 September 1994 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026975809400300306 |
| Date | 01 September 1994 |
| Author | Gail F. Mason |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
264
claim
to
the
exclusive status of being
an
owed victim "constitutes one of
the
great
moral nihilisms of this century."
The
main historical chapters
themselves-
on
the
notion of sacrifice
in
classical philosophy,
on
the
meaning of suffering
in
early
Christianity,
on
the
Eighteenth Century revolution against transcendence (espe-
cially
in
Bentham),
on
the
"expanded heart"
and
empathic impulse behind modem
reform movements -are interesting enough, but somewhat plodding
and
un-
original.
By
the
time
the
author arrives
at
contemporary notions of universal victimiza-
tion,
the
argument becomes
too
diffuse
and
unstructured.
His
examples, whether
the
Holocaust
or
the
animal liberation movements,
are
relevant but lack
any
theoretical framework or empirical grounding
in
known patterns of responses
to
victimization. There
is
too
much rhetoric
and
sermonizing. But these issues are
important enough
to
raise
in
any
form;
the
philosophy of victimology can use
all
the
help
it
can
get.
Stanley Cohen
Institute of Criminology,
The
Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
MALE
VICTIMS
OF
SEXUAL
ASSAULT.
Gillian
C.
Mezey
and Michael
B.
King
(Eds). Oxford University Press, Oxford,
1992.
vi
and
149
pp.
Paperback
£15.00.
Sporadic media treatment of
the
phenomenon of sexual assault against males
has
a tendency
to
evoke outbursts of ridicule or derision among a somewhat sceptical
population.
When
the
possibility of female offenders coupled with male victims
is
broached
it
is
not
unusual for responses
to
include expressions of mock jealousy
from
men,
or a general round of congratulations
for
the
victim's supposed good
luck.
While
it
is
fair
to
say
that
the
notion of women committing sexual assault
against
men
rouses a less than sympathetic response,
it
is
equally true that when
both
the
perpetrator
and
the victim
are
male
the
reactions of others
may
be
altogether different, yet not necessarily more sensitive or supportive. Men
who
are
the
victims of sexual assault
by
other
men
find
themselves facing a plethora
of misconceptions about this crime
by
an
uninformed public. False assumptions
regarding
the
sexuality of both
the
victim
and
the
offender are likely
to
be
widespread
and
'accusations' of homosexuality
are
common; a situation which
is
aggravated by
the
negative status of homosexuality
in
many
societies.
It
is
towards this veritable minefield of ignorance
and
stereotypes that
Male
Victims
of
Sexual
Assault,
directs
its
principal debates
and
discussions.
The
book,
which
is
edited
by
Gillian Mezey
and
Michael King, takes,
as
its
principal theme,
the
commission of sexual assault
by
males, against males.
Yet,
the
range of topics
addressed
by
each author
is
relatively diverse
and
not
all
of
the
authors confine
themselves
to
the
question of
men
as
the primary survivors of sexual assault.
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