“13.3 Reflection on Project #3.”

                                                                                                                    Anthony Saito

                                                                                                               November 14, 2015

                                                                                                                     English 102

             Are Women Always the Victims of Sexual Violence?

                            Are Men Always the Perpetrators?

Sexual violence and rape are very serious social and public health problems that many people are forced to experience. Unfortunately, “according to the U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)--there is an average of 293,066 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year.” (Francis, 2010)  Furthermore, there is approximately 1 sexual assault every 107 seconds. When it comes to being sexually assaulted, women are overwhelmingly perceived as the victims, while men are usually perceived as the perpetrators. This is unfortunate because men are also in danger of sexual violence. It is unfair how men are always perceived as the perpetrators when men are also the victims of sexual assault and rape.

              This public argument is targeted toward individuals who are aware and interested in the controversy, and who believe that women are the only victims of sexual violence. This public argument is going to make people understand that woman being the only victims of sexual violence is just a misconception. Women are not hurt more by sexual assault than men are, that is just a stereotype. Also, this will lead people to understanding that women are not always the “weak” ones and that there are evil female perpetrators out there in the world. This public argument is going to inform and persuade the audience that women are not the only ones who have to experience sexual assault and rape.

“Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys” written by Wynne Russell, proves that women are not the only ones who experiences sexual assault and rape. The author uses multiple rhetorical strategies such as credibility, logic, and emotion to prove his overall message to the audience. This article proves that men are under-represented when it comes to being the victims of sexual assault and rape. “The limited statistics that exist almost certainly vastly under-represent the number of male victims.” (Russell, 2015) This quote shows that men are far less likely to report being sexually assaulted compared to women. The author also uses many credible sources to prove that male-directed sexual violence is still undocumented. Russell uses credible sources such as INGOs, UN agencies, governmental & intergovernmental organizations, and international criminal courts. Not only does the author use credible sources, and accurate statistics, but the use of emotion truly makes the audience have sympathy for men. This is an effective way to inform and persuade the audience to change their perception of men, when it comes to sexual violence. Russell also explains where men usually encounter sexual violence, which makes his overall argument even more persuasive. It is very sad because men are also victims of many different types of sexual violence but males are always perceived as the ones who commit the crime. This includes, “rape, sexual torture, mutilation of the genitals, sexual humiliation, sexual enslavement, forced incest and forced rape.” (Russell, 2015) Many males have encountered some type of sexual violence but most of them are afraid to speak up and report being sexually assaulted. I also think males are afraid of reporting sexual assaults because of the  “not “boys being boys” but an exercise in power and humiliation.” (Russell, 2015)I believe that males are afraid of being judged, seen as less of a man, and most males think people wouldn’t believe them. That is why many males tend to not report being sexually assaulted unlike most women.

“When Men Are Raped” written by Hanna Rosin, reveals that men are frequently the victims of rape and sexual violence. It may sound surprising and ironic but it is true and men do experience many types of sexual violence. This article proves that men are often the victims and women are often the perpetrators. So why are men suddenly becoming the victims of sexual violence? A recent analysis of BJS data proved that “46 percent of male victims reported a female perpetrator.” (Rosin, 2014) This shows men reporting being sexually assaulted by a female perpetrator, but the statistic is still not completely accurate. The percent of males being sexually assaulted can be much higher if more males actually report being sexually assaulted.

“Males Are More Likely To Suffer Sexual Assault Than To Be Falsely Accused Of It” written by Tyler Kingkade, is actually a very surprising article. This article talks about how males are actually more often the victims of sexual violence than to be falsely accused of it. This article proves that men are not always the perpetrators. Woman being the only victims of sexual violence is just a misconception. It is actually really upsetting that people honestly think women are the only victims of sexual violence because it is obviously a misconception. People who think that way truly need to change the way they think. The research at an advocacy group for male survivors called 1in6.org, “suggests that at least 1 in 6 boys experience sexual abuse before age 18.” (Kingkade, 2015) This shows that men are victims of sexual violence just like women. It has been proven that men often experience sexual violence because many males are forced to experience sexual violence in the military, jails (detention), and from female perpetrators.

There are many possible solutions to this controversy. In order for this controversy to be resolved, more males need to actually report being sexually assaulted so that researchers would get a more precise and accurate statistic. If more males reported being sexually assaulted, they would not be under-represented when it comes to being the victims of sexual violence. From reading this public argument, I am hoping that people would change their mindset and understand that women are not the only victims of sexual violence. Women are not hurt more by sexual assault than men are. That is just a stereotype and misconception. People need to be more aware and sympathetic to men because it is truly unfair how men are always perceived as the perpetrators. Using these credible sources (evidences) proves my argument that men are also victims of sexual violence. 

                                         Work Cited:

Francis, Berit. "How Often Does Sexual Assault Occur? | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network." <i>How Often Does Sexual Assault Occur? | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network</i>. Rape, Abuse, &amp; Incest National Network, 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

https://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/frequency-of-sexual-assault

Kingkade, Tyler. "Males Are More Likely To Suffer Sexual Assault Than To Be Falsely Accused Of It." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. file://localhost/<http/::www.huffingtonpost.com:2014:12:08:false-rape-accusations_n_6290380.html>.

Sivakumaran, Sandesh. "European Journal of International Law." Sexual Violence Against Men in Armed Conflict. Oxford Journals, 2007. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/2/253.short>.

Hunter, John A., Jr., Lenard J. Lexier, Dennis W. Goodwin, Patsy A. Browne, and Christine Dennis. "Psychosexual, Attitudinal, and Developmental Characteristics of Juveni." Le Female Sexual Perpetrators in a Residential Treatment Setting. Kluwer Academic Publishers-Human Sciences Press, 1993. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01321228>.

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>.

Gershon, Livia. "When Women Sexually Assault Men." Pacific Standard, 9 Oct. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://www.psmag.com/politics-and-law/women-sexually-assault-men-92099>.

Rosin, Hanna. "Men Are Raped Almost as Often as Women in America. We Need to Talk About This. ." When Men Are Raped. The Slate Group, 29 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/04/male_rape_in_america_a_new_study_reveals_that_men_are_sexually_assaulted.html>

Penn, Nathaniel. ""Son, Men Don't Get Raped"" GQ. GQ Longform, 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://www.gq.com/long-form/male-military-rape>.

Kassie, Emily. "Male Victims Of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out‘We're Up Against A System That's Not Designed To Help Us'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 2 Feb. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/27/male-victims-sexual-assault_n_6535730.html>.

Munro, Kali. "Male Sexual Abuse Victims of Female Perpetrators." KaliMunrocom. Kali Munro, 2002. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://kalimunro.com/wp/articles-info/sexual-emotional-abuse/male-sexual-abuse-victims-of-female-perpetrators>.

Carlson, Eric Stener. "THE HIDDEN PREVALENCE OF MALE SEXUAL ASSAULT DURING WAR: Observations on Blunt Trauma to the Male Genitals." The British Journal of Criminology 46.1 (2006): 16-25. Female Perpetrators and Male Victims of Sexual Assault: Why They Are so Invisible. Forge, Jan. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2015. <http://forge-forward.org/wp-content/docs/Female-perpetrators-and-male-victims-why-they-are-invisible_mjw.pdf>.

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

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

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

 

        “If a Guy Tells You He Was Sexually Abused” via JustTell.org. August 12, 2012. All Rights Reserved. 

 

“Slams Audience Members Who Laughed At Male Domestic Violence Victim” via HuffingtonPost. 2015. All Rights Reserved.

                                  Reflection: 

1. What was specifically revised from one draft to another?

I actually revised a lot from one draft to another. I fixed how my essay was organized, which made my essay a lot better and easier to understand. I also added a lot more detail to each of my paragraphs. I also used more credible sources, which really helped me a lot.

2. Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization? 

I reconsidered my thesis statement by writing out multiple thesis sentences. I chose the best one out of all of them. I also reconsidered my organization because I felt like my essay needed to be organized better. This made my essay a lot better. 

3. What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose? 

I decided to make these changes because I wanted to better address my audience about the controversy. I also realized that there were 2 or more audiences. This includes people who are aware and interested in the controversy and people who believe that women are the only victims of sexual violence. 

4. How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?

The changes I made do not affect my credibility as an author since I used many credible sources. 

5. How will these changes better address the audience or venue? 

These changes will better address the audience because my essay is a lot more detailed and it is organized. 

6. Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style? 

I did not reconsider my sentence structure but I did reconsider my style. I changed my style by making my essay more organized.

7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose? 

These changes will assist my audience in understanding my purpose because I organized my essay better. I also used many credible sources which will inform and persuade the audience in believing my argument.


8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing? 

No, I did not have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre because I liked the genre I chose. 

9. Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer? 

The process of reflection helped me reconsider my identity as a writer because it made me think about myself as a writer and what I wrote (essay). This helped me write an even better essay and become a better writer.