Male Rape is Widely Ignored!

Note this is long but quite an interesting read:
Op-Ed Contributor
The Hidden Victims of Wartime Rape
By LARA STEMPLE
Published: March 1, 2011

Los Angeles

AS disturbing new reports of male rape in Congo made clear, wartime
sexual violence isnt limited to women and girls. But in its ongoing
effort to eradicate rape during conflict, the United Nations continues
to overlook a significant imperative: ending wartime sexual assault of
men and boys as well.

Sexual violence against men does occasionally make the news: the
photographs of the sexual abuse and humiliation of Iraqi men at the Abu
Ghraib prison, for example, stunned the world.

Yet there are thousands of similar cases, less well publicized but well
documented by researchers, in places as varied as Chile, Greece and
Iran. The United Nations reported that out of 5,000 male concentration
camp detainees held near Sarajevo during the Bosnian conflict, 80
percent acknowledged having been abused sexually. In El Salvador, 76
percent of male political prisoners told researchers they had
experienced sexual torture.

Rape has long been a way to humiliate, traumatize and silence the enemy.
For many of the same reasons that combatants assault women and girls,
they also rape men and boys.

Nevertheless, international legal documents routinely reflect the
assumption that sexual violence happens only to women and girls. There
are dozens of references to violence against women defined to
include sexual violence in United Nations human rights resolutions,
treaties and agreements, but most dont mention sexual violence against men.

Ignoring male rape has a number of consequences. For one, it not only
neglects men and boys, it also harms women and girls by reinforcing a
viewpoint that equates female with victim, thus hampering our
ability to see women as strong and empowered.

In the same way, silence about male victims reinforces unhealthy
expectations about men and their supposed invulnerability. Such
hyper-masculine ideals encourage aggressive behavior in men that is
dangerous for the women and girls with whom they share their lives.

Sex-specific stereotypes also distort the international communitys
response. Women who have suffered rape in conflict have likely endured
non-sexual trauma as well. But when they are treated as rape victims,
their other injuries get minimized.

Conversely, when men have experienced sexual abuse and are treated
solely as torture victims, we ignore the sexual component of their
suffering. Indeed, doctors and emergency aid workers are rarely trained
to recognize the physical signs of male rape or to provide counseling to
its victims.

Our failure to acknowledge male rape leaves it in the shadows,
compounding the humiliation that survivors experience. For instance, the
majority of Tamil males in Sri Lanka who were sexually assaulted during
that countrys long civil war did not report it to the authorities at
the time, later explaining that they were simply too ashamed.

The United Nations has attempted to take wartime rape seriously. In 2000
the Security Council passed Resolution 1325 which, among other things,
promotes gender-sensitive training in peacekeeping, encourages hiring
more women in peacekeeping roles and calls for better protection of
women and girls in conflict zones. This is a crucial undertaking, but
the agreement neglects to address sexual violence against men and boys.

At a ceremony last year marking the resolutions 10th anniversary,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the United States
would develop a plan to accelerate the advancement of its goals,
including $44 million for womens equality initiatives around the world.

This is an important commitment. But the American government should
expand its efforts to include the many international programs working
with men and boys to challenge entrenched ideas about manhood and to
stop the cycle of violence.

The International Criminal Court, nearly all American states and many
countries use a sex-neutral definition of sexual assault. The United
Nations and the White House must likewise move beyond the shortcomings
of Resolution 1325 and commit to ending wartime sexual violence against
everyone.

Lara Stemple is the director of graduate studies and of the Health and
Human Rights Law Project at the University of California, Los Angeles,
School of Law.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/opinion/02stemple.html?hp

Mike

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