Theorising vulnerability and male sexual victimisation
| DOI | 10.1177/0004865817723955 |
| Date | 01 September 2018 |
| Published date | 01 September 2018 |
| Author | Aliraza Javaid |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Theorising vulnerability and
male sexual victimisation
Aliraza Javaid
University of Newcastle, UK
Abstract
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 sex-
ualities frameworks to elucidate the connection between vulnerability and male rape, offering
primary data (N ¼70). 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 intim-
ately 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.
Keywords
Gay scene, gender, heterosexuality, male rape, masculine resources
Date received: 10 March 2017; accepted: 10 July 2017
Introduction
While male rape, which is defined as men and women raping men for the purposes of this
paper, continues to be neglected in the academic, social and criminal justice contexts,
this paper attempts to start a discussion of male rape discourse. Rape victims, generally,
are seen as vulnerable. No critical discussion, however, has really explored this vulner-
ability, especially in a male rape setting. Examining the interconnection between vulner-
ability and male rape sheds light on broader processes of the ways in which gender is
Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Criminology
2018, Vol. 51(3) 454–470
!The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0004865817723955
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Corresponding author:
Aliraza Javaid, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
Email: ali_2p9@hotmail.co.uk
embedded in and constructed through societies, the criminal justice system and the
voluntary sector. The empirical part of this paper will illuminate notions of vulnerability
and male rape. I examine how male rape is socially and culturally constructed in socie-
ties, state and voluntary agencies and interlinking these constructions to an ideology of
vulnerability. In relation to notions of vulnerability and male rape, particularly from a
gender perspective, this paper will provide some understanding of the link between
vulnerability and the discourse of male rape, with the use of gender and sexualities
lens and frameworks.
This paper attempts to tackle the under-reporting of male rape, which is still a serious
issue for the police (Abdullah-Khan, 2008; Javaid, 2016c). Due to the stigma associated
with male rape, many male victims of rape are reticent to come forward to report their
rape to the police and the wider societies (Walker et al., 2005). This reluctance, arguably,
stems from their fear of people finding out that their sexual victimisation challenges and
inverts overall norms of hegemonic masculinity and sexuality (Javaid, 2014a, 2015a).
Masculinities are multiple, contested, hierarchical, actively constructed and collective.
Male and female victims of rape suffer similar experiences, such as they both suffer
coercive and physically violent attacks, and their offenders are often close associates
or acquaintances (Gregory and Lees, 1999). Strangers can, of course, also rape both men
and women, however. In addition, the places in which sexual assault and rape occur for
both men and women can be anywhere, ranging from schools, private homes, bars, clubs
to prisons or institutional establishments. The victims often report feelings of trauma,
and feelings of denial, shame, anger and embarrassment are also frequently reported to
be present amongst male rape victims (Javaid, 2014c; Walker, Archer, & Davies, 2005).
Historically, there were no adequate cultural and legal frameworks with which to
understand and tackle male rape or male sexual assault, for many states applied only
gender-specific rape laws and policies. Some supporters and activists, notably gay activ-
ists, advocated for gender-neutral laws and policies and campaigned tirelessly to expand
legal and cultural definitions of rape beyond myopic definitions and conceptualisations
of male rape and male sexual assault. Legal frameworks are improving, although there
are considerable weaknesses to the current English law regarding male rape (see Javaid,
2014b, for an in-depth critical discussion of the English law).
Theoretically, this paper will draw on Foucault’s (1981) and Simon and Gagnon’s
(1986) theoretical perspectives to inform the empirical discussions and to inform the
arguments to be developed throughout this article. In my view, the social constructionist
ideology is highly adequate and appropriate to understanding and theorising male sexual
victimisation. This ideology essentially provides the theoretical foundations wherein
sexuality is seen as a matter of social definition instead of a quality of certain actors
or acts. Foucault and Simon and Gagnon contest the biological deterministic ideology;
they argue that sexuality is a social product instead of the outcome of people’s biological
drives. They will inform the theoretical and empirical discussions throughout this paper.
This paper is structured in four parts. First, I provide a review of recent, although
scarce, literature on male rape and vulnerability together while enmeshing this with the
theoretical perspective of sexual scripts. Second, I briefly cover the larger study in which
the data emerge for this paper. Third, I provide the data linking the data to relevant
literature, theories and concepts to make sense of vulnerability and male rape. Fourth, I
provide a discussion and concluding section to discuss the implications that my findings
Javaid 455
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