Rape victim shares his story, Part Two

From the June 14 issue of Q-Notes, part two of a N.C. gay man’s experience with rape and sexual assault, its aftermath and the ensuing community response (or lack thereof):

Male rape victim shares his story, Part Two

by Matt Comer & David Stout . Q-Notes staff

HICKORY — The first half of this two-part series, published in the May 31 issue of Q-Notes, began with some eye-opening statistics. To recap: The U.S. Justice Department reports that one in every 10 rape victims is male. A national study found that three percent of American men (2.78 million) have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape, and 60 percent of those men identify as gay or bisexual.

The Hickory Police Department said a total of 31 adult sexual assault or rape cases were reported in 2007. Of those, only one — the case of our alleged victim, identified here with the pseudonym Brian — was an instance of male-on-male sexual assault.

North Carolina law does not recognize that a man can rape another man. Therefore, when both parties are male, cases that would be considered rapes elsewhere are prosecuted as sexual assaults in North Carolina.
Part two of Brian’s story, presented here, details his experiences and interactions with the community agencies charged with assisting victims of sexual assault and rape.

Read the rest at Q-Notes Online

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