The male victim of sexual assault

Under-reporting by male victims is more pronounced than for females victims, and so male victims remain a rarity for most sexual assault aftercare service providers. In this chapter, I present a review of forensic medical and psycho-social literature on male-on-male rape and sexual assault. Where appropriate, comparison is made with female victims, as that is the context with which most aftercare service providers are familiar. The following aspects are covered: prevalence; definitions; social perceptions of perpetrators and victims of sexual assault on males; characteristics of victims and assaults; physiological and psychological responses; and implications for forensic medical investigation.