9.3 Final Submission and Reflection on Project 2

                                                                                                                Anthony Saito

                                                                                                                English 102

                                                                                                           October 22, 2015

    Men Too Are Victims of Sexual Violence

         It is a misconception when people say that women are known to be the only victims of sexual violence. Wynne Russell published the article “Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys” to prove that women are not the only victims of sexual violence. Russell uses multiple rhetorical strategies such as credibility, logic, and emotion to prove his overall message to the audience. This article is targeted toward individuals who are aware of the controversy and are interested in psychology, which is the field of study.

          Russell argues and informs his audience that women are not the only victims of sexual violence. He uses credible sources, examples, and multiple rhetorical strategies, to prove that men are also in danger of sexual violence. In his article, Russell describes how “the limited statistics that exist almost certainly vastly under-represent the number of male victims.” (Russell, 2015) This quote shows that men are victims of sexual violence but males tend to not report the crime unlike most women.  The author is trying to prove his message that men/boys are also in danger of sexual violence and are victims just like women. He then goes on to talk about multiple examples of where males face sexual violence. The author explains that males often encounter sexual violence when they are in jails (detention) or in the military. One of the most important aspects of his article is how he writes about a possible solution to this controversy. The author believes that “systematic collection of data is vital” (Russell, 2015) because this would help men and boys report being sexually assaulted, which is beneficial for researchers since they would get a precise and accurate statistic. Men and boys would not be under-represented if more males reported being sexually assaulted.

          Russell’s audience is comprised of individuals who have a general understanding of the controversy and are interested in psychology, which is the field of study. He uses statistics, examples, and credible sources, which strengthens his arguments. Also, the author uses multiple rhetorical strategies in his article including a very important one, which is credibility. He uses many credible sources such as INGOs, UN agencies, governmental & intergovernmental organizations, and international criminal courts. The author uses statistics and examples that truly help the audience understand more about men and boys being victims of sexual violence.  “Many international organizations – UN agencies, governmental and intergovernmental organizations, INGOs, international criminal courts – have acknowledged the issue in their publications and their staff members show a high degree of individual sensitization and concern.” (Russell, 2015) The author uses these international organizations to prove that male-directed sexual violence is still undocumented.

          The author uses another rhetorical strategy in his article, which is logic. The use of logic is very effective when an author wants to back up their argument. Russell uses examples, statistics, and credible sources to support his claim and argument. In his article, he not only uses the international organizations, which are credible sources, but he also uses statistics from the Human Security Report. The Human Security Report stated, “If one expands this tally to include cases of sexual exploitation of boys displaced by violent conflict, the not “boys being boys” but an exercise in power and humiliation list encompasses the majority of the 59 armed conflicts identified in the recent Human Security Report.” (Russell, 2015) This proves how men are sexually violated but not enough males actually report the crimes.  The author also explains another statistic that truly shows how most men in prisons face many different types of sexual violence. “In some places over 50% of detainees reportedly experience sexualized torture.” (Russell, 2015) This is a reliable statistic since it is coming from a credible source.  It is very sad because males in both the military and in prisons face many different types of sexual violence. This includes “rape, sexual torture, mutilation of the genitals, sexual humiliation, sexual enslavement, forced incest and forced rape.” (Russell, 2015)

          The use of emotion is used throughout his article.  The topic he writes about, which is sexual violence, is a very controversial topic that can make people emotional. It is obvious that the author wants the audience to have sympathy for men since they are under-represented when it comes to sexual violence.  “Nevertheless, in the last decade, sexualized violence against men and boys – including rape, sexual torture, mutilation of the genitals, sexual humiliation, sexual enslavement, forced incest and forced rape – has been reported in 25 armed conflicts across the world.” (Russell, 2015) This quote shows that even men face rape and other sexual violence that women often experience. Even just reading that one quote, would make someone feel emotional since being a victim of sexual violence is something that is taken seriously and it is not something to laugh about. The use of emotion is a key part of this article since the author is trying to inform the audience that woman being the only victims of sexual violence is just a misconception.

          "Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys" written by Wynne Russell, proves how men are under represented when it comes to sexual violence. The author uses many credible sources, examples, and statistics to show that woman being the only victims of sexual violence is just a misconception. Russell also uses multiple rhetorical strategies including credibility, emotion, and logic, which strengthen his arguments. I personally believe that the author successfully proved his overall message that women are not the only victims of sexual violence. 

                                               References:

Russell, Wynne. "Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys." Research Gate. Forced Migration Review, 3 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <http://www.researchgate.net/publication/260002638_Conflict-related_sexual_violence_against_men_and_boys>.

      “Think girls and women are the only ones sexually assaulted? Think again!” via Carbonated.TV. 2012. All Rights Reserved. 

            “Domestic Violence and the role of Big Money” via conflictresearchgroupintl.com. February 20, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

                                       “Rape: The Male Perspective” via bdnews24.com. July 27, 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Reflection: 

1. I made many changes when revising one draft to another. At first, I did not mention any rhetorical strategies (credibility, emotion, logic) which is one of the most important parts of the essay! 

2. I reconsidered changing my thesis statement and organization since I felt like it was not up to my standards. Writing and choosing my thesis statement was very difficult to do but I feel like I chose the best thesis statement for my project. Also, I felt like my organization needed improvement which is the reason why I dedicated a whole paragraph for each topic. For example, I dedicated a whole paragraph for each of the rhetorical strategies I covered in my project (credibility, emotion, and logic). 

3. There were many factors that led me to making these changes. I forgot to keep the audience in mind (reconsideration of audience) and I also had a shift in purpose. I needed to persuade the audience that men are also victims of sexual violence and I did just that by making a few changes. Changing my thesis statement and organization was a big part of that. 

4. I don't think that these changes affected my credibility as an author. I believe that it made my essay much more persuasive and meaningful. 

5. The changes I made will definitely better address the audience. A thesis statement is very important and I incorporated a well written and very strong one in my essay. Just that thesis statement already made a huge difference. The organization also helped improve my essay because it makes my essay more concise and organized. Dedicating a whole paragraph for each topic allows me to explain the topic in greater detail, which is obviously a good thing. I believe that dedicating a whole paragraph for each topic including the rhetorical strategies (credibility, logic, emotion) made my essay a lot better and more meaningful!