Policing Male Rape and Sexual Assault
| Author | Philip N. S. Rumney |
| Published date | 01 February 2008 |
| Date | 01 February 2008 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1350/jcla.2008.72.1.478 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Policing Male Rape and Sexual
Assault
Philip N. S. Rumney*
Abstract This article examines an issue that has been largely ignored in
the growing literature on the treatment of sexual offences within the
criminal justice system, i.e. the treatment of adult male rape and sexual
assault complainants by the police. This analysis is based upon a series of
interviews with men who have reported their experiences of rape and
sexual assault. It considers issues of victim care and satisfaction with the
performance of the police, along with other criminal justice professionals.
These experiences are placed in a broader research context that indicates
some of the features of men’s treatment by the police, along with re-
current themes that are also seen in the treatment of female complainants.
Finally, this article critically considers claims that the criminal justice’s
treatment of male and female rape is influenced by gender bias.
Since the early 1990s there has been a significant increase in research
that has examined the problem of adult male rape and sexual assault.
This research has examined such issues as the problem of male sexual
victimisation within institutional settings,1within the general popula-
tion,2during wartime3and has also examined the nature, dynamics and
impact of male victimisation.4This work has cast light on a problem that
has remained largely hidden from public view and like female rape,
continues to be shrouded in ignorance and misconception. This is also a
problem in the context of the treatment of adult male victims who have
sought help from the criminal justice system. Some research has exam-
ined male complainant’s experiences of the court process5and in some
of the earlier literature there are suggestions that the police treatment of
male complainants was poor. For example, 18 years ago Richie
McMullen stated: ‘[male] victims are rarely believed [by the police], are
* Reader, University of the West of England; e-mail: phil.rumney@uwe.ac.uk. I
would like to thank Professor Jennifer Temkin and Joanna Jamel for commenting
on earlier drafts of this article. All views, as well as errors, remain my own.
1 S. Banbury, ‘Coercive Sexual Behaviour in British Prisons as Reported by Adult
Ex-Prisoners’ (2004) 43 Howard Journal 113; I. O’Donnell, ‘Prison Rape in
Context’ (2004) 44 British Journal of Criminology 24.
2 A. Coxell et al, ‘Lifetime Prevalence, Characteristics and Associated Problems of
Non-consensual Sex in Men: Cross Sectional Survey’ (1999) 318 BMJ 846.
3 S. Sivakumaran, ‘Sexual Violence Against Men in Armed Conflict’ (2007) 18
European Journal of International Law 253.
4 See, e.g., G. C. Mezey and M. B. King, Male Victims of Sexual Assault, 2nd edn
(Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2000); S. Allen, ‘Male Victims of Rape:
Responses to a Perceived Threat to Masculinity’ in C. Hoyle and R. Young (eds),
New Visions of Crime Victims (Hart: Oxford, 2002); J. Walker et al, ‘Effects of Rape on
Men: A Descriptive Analysis’ (2005) 34 Archives of Sexual Behavior 69 (hereinafter
Walker et al 2005a); J. Walker et al, ‘Effects of male rape on psychological
functioning’ (2005) 44 British Journal of Clinical Psychology 225.
5 P. Rumney, ‘Male Rape in the Courtroom: Issues and Concerns’ [2001] Crim LR
205 (discussing the experiences of male rape and sexual assault victims who have
given evidence in the court). See also: P. Rumney and M. Morgan-Taylor, ‘The
Construction of Sexual Consent in Male Rape and Sexual Assault’ in M Cowling
and P Reynolds (eds), Making Sense of Sexual Consent (Ashgate: London, 2004).
67The Journal of Criminal Law (2008) 72 JCL 67–86
doi:1350/jcla.2008.72.1.478
assumed to be gay and thought to be responsible for not being man
enough to fight off an attacker . . . many male victims report that the
treatment they receive by the police and in the courts is worse than
the offence itself’.6While some work has been done domestically and
in the USA on police treatment of male rape,7thus far there has been
no specific in-depth domestic study of men’s experiences of the police
that has brought together the existing literature, as well as original
material.
The purpose of this article is to begin to fill this evidence gap. This is
an area that is of growing importance due to the significant increase in
the numbers of allegations of male rape being reported to the police.8To
assist this analysis, the article will consider the experiences of five male
complainants, four of whom reported sexual victimisation to the police,9
along with discussion of evidence that has been gleaned form a range of
other sources. Through such an analysis it will be possible to begin to
identify trends in police responses to adult male rape and sexual assault,
along with areas of strength and weakness.
Police responses: a brief overview
Since it became first legally recognised in 1994, there has been a very
significant increase in recorded offences of male rape. In 1995 there
were 150 offences of male rape recorded by the police,10 for 2004–05 the
number was 1,135.11 The most recent figure shows 1,150 recorded
offences of male rape.12 This increase in reports over the last decade has,
at least in part, its origins in measures taken by the police service to
improve the treatment of male victims since the early 1990s,13 including
the use of specially trained officers to work with male complainants.14
6 R. J. McMullen, Male Rape: Breaking the Silence on the Last Taboo (Gay Mens Press:
London, 1990) 114.
7 See, e.g., below n. 14 and M. Scarce, Male on Male Rape: The Hidden Toll of Stigma
and Shame (Insight Books: New York, 1997) 216–18, ch. 10.
8 For the increase in the number of recorded offences of male rape, see below
nn. 10–12 and accompanying text.
9 For the current study, five men disclosed their experiences by phone, in person or
by letter to the author between 1998 and 2004. Contact with the men was
achieved by a variety of means. Three contacted the author, initially for advice or
for further information. Another made contact following a radio interview given
by the author. The other interviewee was a man the author had met at a
conference. All the interviewees agreed to participate in this research on condition
of their anonymity and with a right to withdraw their cooperation with the
research at any point in the process. They were also provided with details of local
Victim Support and Survivors’ groups.
10 Home Office, Crime in England and Wales 2001/2002 (2002).
11 S. Nicholas et al, Crime in England and Wales 2004/2005 (Home Office: 2005) Table
7.01.
12 S. Nicholas et al, Crime in England and Wales 2006/07 (Home Office: 2007) 36. Of
these, 413 involved males aged 16 and over. Additional forms of male sexual
victimisation are covered by a range of other sexual offences: (p. 37).
13 For example, between 1990 and 1993 the number of recorded offences of non-
consensual buggery on males in the Metropolitan Police area rose from 17 to 50.
This followed attempts by the Metropolitan police to improve its response to male
victims, along with increasing cooperation with support groups.
14 S. Lees, Ruling Passions: Sexual Violence, Reputation and the Law(Open University
Press: Buckingham, 1997). Attempts to improve police responses are obviously not
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