Overview and Statistics
Although sexual assault is most often a crime against women, men can also be victims. From 1995 to 2010, approximately 9% of all rape or sexual assault victimizations recorded in the National Crime Victimization Survey involved male victims (Planty et al., 2013). Men and boys are sexually assaulted and molested every day in the United States. It is estimated that 1 in 6 boys experience sexual abuse (Prevent Child Abuse America; 1in 6). The West Virginia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey estimates that 1 in 21 men (18 and older) in West Virginia will be a victim of attempted or completed forcible rape in his lifetime (WV Health Statistics Center, 2008). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2008) found that of males who experience rape, 41% are under the age of 12 and 28% are between the ages of 12 and 17 at the time of their first rape.
Young boys are most likely to be abused by someone they know and trust, including fathers, mothers, stepparents, uncles, neighbors, spiritual leaders and camp counselors. The perpetrator is a male and not related to the child in over 50% of cases (RAINN). Overall, 93% of child victims know their perpetrators (RAINN).