Male sexual assault survivors: lessons for UK services
| Date | 09 July 2018 |
| Published date | 09 July 2018 |
| Pages | 181-188 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-07-2017-0308 |
| Author | Michelle Lowe |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Aggression, conflict & peace,Sociology,Gender studies,Gender violence,Political sociology, policy & social change,Social conflicts,War/peace |
Male sexual assault survivors: lessons
for UK services
Michelle Lowe
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to provide a concise, selective review of the current status of service
provision for male survivors of sexual assault in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper explored to what extent services are equipped to support the
specific and complex needs of the male survivor and highlighted key implications for research, policy and practice.
Findings –The review outlined the historical backdrop to how and why services for male survivors have been
consistently lacking, the current status of UK service provision is reported and suggestions for continued
research in this developing area are made.
Originality/value –Despite a flurry of research in this area in recent years, UK service provision for male
sexual assault survivors is inconsistent across locale. The value of the current paper is that it provides an
outline of relevant work to date, and provides important suggestions for future directions.
Keywords Voluntary sector, Sexual assault, Service provision, Victimology, Male rape, Survivors
Paper type General review
Male sexual assault survivors: lessons for UK services
In recent years, a flurry of research has detailed the scope and consequences of sexual
victimization on male survivors (see e.g. Lowe and Balfour, 2015; Lowe and Rogers, 2017 for
recent reviews).There has been an ongoing concernamongst researchers and practitionerswithin
this field regardingthe lack of adequate service provision for male survivorsof sexual assault, and
community-based or voluntary sector of service provision for male survivors has come under
recent scrutiny by UK researchers (see e.g. Javaid, 2016a, b, 2017a, b; Lowe and Balfour, 2015).
This paper explores via a concise and selective narrative review to what extent services
are equipped to support the specific and complex needs of the male survivor of sexual assault.
First, this paper outlines the historical backdrop to how and why services for male survivors have
been consistently lacking. Second, the scope and consequences of male sexual victimization are
detailed, to highlight the need for adequate and improved service provision. Third, the current
status of UK service provision for male rape survivors is reported and suggestions for continued
research in this developing area of work are made based on the framework outlined by the
Scottish Executive (2005).
Only research on sexualized assaults conducted in community settings are included with studies
that concern institutionalized sexual offenses and wartime rape are excluded due to space
limitations. Although this paper is focused upon service provision for male survivors in the UK,
research from other nations has been reviewed and included where points raised that are
relevant and applicable to UK-based issues. The term “male survivor”is a generic one, and for
the purposes of this review covers all males abused across the lifespan.
Lessons from the feminist history of sexual violence research
Since the 1970s, feminist researchers have conceptualized sexual violence as a social problem
that stems from the power that men have over women within a rape-supportive patriarchal
Received 25 July 2017
Revised 9 August 2017
Accepted 9 August 2017
Michelle Lowe is a Reader in
Criminological and Forensic
Psychology at the Faculty of
Wellbeing and Social Sciences,
University of Bolton,
Bolton, UK.
DOI 10.1108/JACPR-07-2017-0308 VOL. 10 NO. 3 2018, pp.181-188, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1759-6599
j
JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, CONFLICT AND PEACE RESEARCH
j
PAGE181
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