Disturbing Findings on the Sexual Victimization of Men with Mental Illness

Disclaimers: This post explicitly discusses sexual violence and may make some readers uncomfortable. This post highlights situations in which men are victims of sexual assault. Addressing this issue does not negate the fact that women are also often the victims of sexual violence.

The term sexual violence can include a wide range of deviant sexual behavior, such as rape or attempted rape (i.e., acts generally perpetrated by strangers), intimate partner violence (i.e., acts perpetrated by someone the victim generally knows, including intimate partners), unwanted sexual touching, incest, and/or any unwanted sexual contact with a body part or foreign object.

Sexual violence is a serious public health and human rights concern, according to the World Health Organization. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistic’s National Crime Survey, an American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds.

New Findings on Male Victims

“Sexual assault can happen to anyone, no matter your age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Men and boys who have been sexually assaulted or abused may have many of the same feelings and reactions as other survivors of sexual assault, but they may also face some additional challenges because of social attitudes and stereotypes about men and masculinity.” —Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)

There are a number of myths and misconceptions about male victims of sexual assault. These myths can include:

• "Non-institutionalized men are rarely assaulted."
• "Male victims are responsible for their assaults."
• "Male sexual assault victims are less traumatized by their female counterparts."
• "Ejaculation is an indicator of a positive sexual encounter."

Believing in these stereotypes has led to underreporting by male victims, a lack of appropriate services, little legal recourse and redress, fewer resources for survivors, and a greater stigma for men compared to female sexual assault victims.

Further, male victimization is terribly under-researched in the psychological literature. However, a new study published by Cambridge University Press and led by graduate researcher Milan Zarchev sheds some light on the prevalence of male sexual assault. Zarchev and colleagues at Erasmus University Medical Center found that men who have severe mental illness are far more likely to experience sexual abuse during adulthood than the general population, with prevalence rates as high as 19%, compared to 5-6% for those without severe mental illness.

In other words, adult men with severe mental illness (i.e., PTSD, depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, schizophrenia, personality disorders, and severe developmental disabilities) are upwards of 3 times more likely to be victims of sexual assault than other men. This is one of the first studies that highlights the prevalence of adult sexual assault against men with mental illness and hopefully provides the impetus for further research examining causal influences more thoroughly.

The Impact on Men

Masculinity in our culture often implies strength, and men who have been sexually abused as adults and subscribe to this view of manliness often feel confused and ashamed because they feel that they should have been “strong enough” to defend themselves. Further, erections and ejaculation often cause a great deal of distress for male victims as they often wonder if these physiological reactions have some sort of greater or alternative meaning. For example, a man who is sexually assaulted by another man may experience an orgasm and subsequently question his sexual orientation and/or feel like “less of a man.”

There are several mental health issues that can result when men are sexually assaulted. Men are more likely to experience emotional disorders, such as anxiety and depression, substance abuse issues, increased risk-taking behavior, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of being sexually victimized. They may also exhibit an increased tendency to avoid people or places that remind him of the abuse, feel on edge or hypervigilant, and withdraw from social relationships. Men also are less likely to disclose their sexual assault for fear of being harshly judged or met with disbelief.

What's the takeaway for researchers, clinicians, and anyone who studies sexual victimization? Zarchev expressed that “men carry around these experiences but do not see people researching what they’ve gone through. We have to deal with the stigmatizing aspect of it. If you are going to research sexual victimization you have to include men, and there is a huge number of men getting victimized.”