Men - Military Sexual Assault Overlooked Victims
by Michelle Murillo
4/18/2012
There's a lot of talk about sexual assaults on women in the military, but not as much about another group of victims.
It's not just women who are raped in the military.
The numbers show sexual assaults on men are up from 10 percent in 2010 to 12-14 percent last year. That is only the reported rapes and it's thought only one in 15 men who are victims actually report it.
Survivor Curtis St John with MaleSurvivor.org says that's because men have a mentality that this is something you don't talk about.
“Its sort of a myth that men are supposed to be in control and have a macho image,” said St John, ”So, they don't like to portray themselves as victims and feel weak when they do. They tend to put that in the back of their mind, compartmentalize it, not bring it up and report it.”
And it doesn't help that often when men try to say they have been raped they get told men don't get raped or are not believed, causing more of them to keep it to themselves. But things are changing.
Its just getting to the point where authorities are realizing men are raped. They're starting to listen and slowly but surely men are given permission to come out and say this has happened to me and I need help.”