For a male sexual assault survivor, justice won in court does not equal healing

As many as 95% of male sexual violations go unreported, according to research cited in a review of scientific literature about male victims of sexual assault, published in April in the journal Behavioral Sciences. Four of five men who reported assaults regretted doing so, saying that police were often unsympathetic and disinterested and that the process just added more trauma.

Men may fail to report sexual assault because of stigma, shame, guilt and embarrassment; fear of not being believed; privacy concerns; and worries that their sexual orientation or masculinity will be questioned, according to research cited in the article.

For gay men and other LGBTQ+ people, “their friends and family may not be aware of how they identify. They’re afraid that that this will tip people off, to disclose something they’re not ready to disclose,” said Scott Berkowitz, president of RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. “There’s in some places a disbelief that this really happens to LGBTQ people.”

Prominent male sexual abuse and assault survivors have come forward in recent years, including actor Anthony Edwards, of “ER” fame, who serves as the board chair and national spokesperson for the nonprofit 1in6 — so named because of research indicating that at least 1 in 6 men have experienced sexual abuse or assault.