Gaymale rape victims: law enforcement, social attitudes and barriers to recognition

This paper examines the experiences of gay male rape victims. It discusses findings from empirical studies of police attitudes along with an increasing number of studies that have examined the experiences of these victims. It also considers social attitudes to this group of victims and the way in which those attitudes impact legal responses to the problem of male rape. Further, this paper identifies three barriers to the recognition of male rape: denial of the problem, hierarchies of suffering, and victim-blaming. Finally, it concludes by considering two possible strategies for improving the treatment of male sexual victimisation within the criminal justice system in England and Wales.