Male Victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault: Top Priority for the 117th Session of Congress

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Telephone: 513-479-3335

Male Victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault: Top Priority for the 117^th Session of Congress

WASHINGTON / January 25, 2021 – The Coalition to End Domestic Violence calls upon members of Congress to address a widespread but long-ignored problem: Male victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reveal the problem is more widespread than many realize.

Each year there are 4.2 million male victims of domestic violence, compared to 3.5 million female victims, according to the CDC (1). Likewise, Black men are at higher risk of partner abuse than Black women. Each year, 1.5 million Black men are victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual violence, compared to 1.4 million Black women (2).

Regarding sexual assault, the CDC has documented nearly identical levels of sexual victimization by sex: 1.270 million women and 1.267 million men were victims of a nonconsensual sexual encounter in the previous 12 months (3). To assess levels of male victimization, the CDC worded its survey to identify men who had been “made to penetrate.” Researchers Lara Stemple and Ilan Meyer conclude, “This remarkable finding challenges stereotypical assumptions about the gender of victims of sexual assault.”

Despite high numbers of male victims, VAWA-funded programs underserve these persons. The most recent Biennial Report to Congress documents large gender disparities in the provision of victim services (4):

Legal Assistance: 6% male, 94% female (Page 162)
Rural Assistance: 10% male, 90% female (Page 174)
Sexual Assault Services: 4% male, 96% female (Page 184)
Transitional Housing: 1% male, 99% female (Page 204)
Indian Tribal Governments: 5% male, 95% female (Page 222)
Tribal Sexual Assault: 14% male, 86% female (Page 237)
Services to Underserved Populations: 14% male, 86% female (Page 248)

Researcher Murray Straus notes, “the past 25 years has seen a systematic denial of evidence about perpetration of PV [partner violence] by women. This denial is troublesome for social scientists because it threatens the integrity of science, and for practitioners because it threatens the effectiveness of prevention and treatment efforts.” (5)

The Coalition to End Domestic Violence urges members of Congress to speak out on the urgent need to help all victims – male and female — of domestic violence and sexual assault.

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