Male Rape Victims: Al-Jazeera Looks At Sexual Violence Towards Men Around The World (VIDEO)

The increasingly brutal raping of Congo women has been dominating the global headlines for some time, but now, Al-Jazeera is shedding light onto an even lesser-known group of sexual assault victims: men who have been raped by other men.

As Al-Jazeera's "Inside Story" team reports, male rape is actually quite common, affecting hundreds of thousands of men around the world each year. Used as a tool for torture and humiliation, rape of men is often not even recognized as a crime -- defined only, as the report notes, as "forced homosexuality" -- and in some cases, overlooked even by the United Nations.

Among the most disturbing statistics: 22 percent of men in eastern Congo report being victims of sexual violence, while 80 percent of Bosnian men claimed to be victims. Though there is no universal definition of male rape, Lara Stemple of UCLA Law's Health and Human Rights Law Project describes forced masturbation, forced incest, forced fellatio and gang rape as being among the acts typically directed towards men -- many of which were reported to have taken place at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.

Watch Al-Jazeera's full report here:

Comments

[Heidi Dietrich]

10:34 PM on 08/01/2011

How horrible it must be for men. It's bad for women but men are "supposed to be strong enough to prevent it." I can't imagine the shame they must feel.

[andrebhub]

09:19 AM on 07/31/2011

Thank you Al-Jazeera for bringing this to light. Rape is not about sex. It's about power, and control. When you really look at it, rape is a crime, not just against men or women, it's a crime against humanity.

[DarkAlchemist]

01:21 AM on 07/31/2011

Where is the study of acts like these being committed in American prisons by "Nation of Islam" members? Too un-PC of Al-Jazeera? Most of the victims are young and/or white.

[p456]

07:38 AM on 07/31/2011

Don't forget the Aryan Brotherhood and the Mexican gangs.

[avaLondon]

11:49 AM on 07/31/2011

provide some evidence from a credible source before you start claiming that all rapers in prison are members of the Nation of Islam- you people are obsessed! you never miss any opportunity to get a dig in at muslims or bring them into the equation

[tomterif]

05:25 AM on 08/07/2011

Wherever did you see the person you were replying to just say that "all" rapers in prison are members of the Nation of Islam. ? !

If you [as many of course did] called for investigation of the alleged crimes committed by some American military personnel guards at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, some years back, did that mean you were claiming that "all" crimes of abuse, by prison guardsm anywhere in the world, were commited by American military personnel prison guards at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq ? !

Sheesh !

Also, though this isn't crucial to what made me absolutely INCREDULOUS at that statement you just made, I'm wondering if you're aware that "the Nation of Islam" refers to one very specific sect of Muslims, which arose in America, and all of whose adherents are African-Americans, and many of whose members are incarcerated for various crimes, in prisons in America.

And of course that the term "Nation of Islam" is being referred to, by this poster, very specifically, to indicate members of that particular sect I just mentioned, and in no way simply is meant by the poster to just generally refer to any and all Muslim people, around the world.

[fireart]

08:35 PM on 07/30/2011

If one male gets erect over another male and rapes him, Whoes fault is it---- The erect one or the one raped because he dressed seductively ?

[lackofoversight]

03:43 AM on 07/31/2011

Oh come on! You're repeating the same BS we've been hearing for years that women get raped because they dress seductively and consequently deserve what they get ... Stop blaming the victim and place it directly on the men who perpetrate these acts of violence and claim they just can't control themselves.

[youarenotGod]

01:37 AM on 08/01/2011

I believe fireart was being facetious in his comment.

[fireart]

07:43 PM on 07/30/2011

Does race, creed or color have any influence on the subject?

[Elrancho2]

09:35 AM on 07/31/2011

No.

[Assumed Name]

06:22 PM on 07/30/2011

...I would submit to people, like myself, with sons that it's extremely important to talk with them openly about how to protect themselves and how to seek help when threatened.

[randymarsh9]

03:56 PM on 07/30/2011

Some people get-off on violence. It can be a sexual preference not towards a man or woman, but the infliction of pain and humiliation upon any victim of such atrocious acts.

[chris428]

07:17 PM on 07/30/2011

And I agree with you 100%

[Jacques Steen]

07:16 PM on 07/30/2011

Spare us your snake-handling evangelical masturbatory fantasies, Cletus.

[ChaCubed]

07:23 AM on 07/31/2011

Damn hateful group of hatefilled people whose ministry is to spread their hate.

[ChaCubed]

07:20 AM on 07/31/2011

Yes, Gee Gray, thank you for reminding us that God doesn't care about females who are raped.

You sick cluck.

[Being Mindful]

02:24 PM on 07/30/2011

This is the second Inside Story I have viewed from Al Jezeera, and I must say they produce high quality, thorough, thoughtful documentaries about difficult issues. The other one was about Female Circumcision and one young woman's defiance and change in her African tribe.

Thank you for bringing this topic to the fore, and for the persistent challenge to the UN representative, who continually spoke in bureaucratese about prevention, but failed to directly respond to the issue of UN language and law that does not include, actually even excludes, men and boys. Thanks to the researchers and reporters for their excellent work and advocacy on this issue.

[ncqueenxox]

01:40 PM on 07/30/2011

We know rape is all about power ,Its hard too believe men would have sex with other men without being gay , but we do know this happens in jails all over the world and some men that mess with children take what is handy and most of these men are straight ,I dont understand why we dont have any law against this , for I can see so many reasons why a boy or man being raped could be very hard for them too deal with , Am sure many never tell ! They must learn that being a rape vitim is never their fault , all fault belongs too the rapest! Maybe just getting a story out like this will help someone, I hope so!

[chris428]

07:20 PM on 07/30/2011

And this type of behavior is becoming all to common all over....

[ipv4]

01:12 PM on 07/30/2011

WTF????

[Larry Ickes]

01:00 PM on 07/30/2011

it is just unbelievable that so many people reading/watching the interview can even think that these cases of rape are even remotely related to homosexuality. If someone forces someone to do something they do not want to it is all about the power. I also cannot believe all the people that believe all the problems in this world are caused by us GAYS!

[ArchieBunker II]

01:35 PM on 07/30/2011

This problem has nothing to do with you or YOUR kind. You are 100% correct on it being a power play. Myself, I think anybody who does this shoud have it cut off,stuck down there throat and hanged. Feel the same way about a woman being raped. Hang em on 1st offence,it won't happen again.

[romano70]

03:54 PM on 07/30/2011

"your" kind? Who do you think you are?

[Ghost Grey]

03:39 PM on 07/30/2011

Your first sentence: yes I know the difference. Your last sentence: people with that attitude tend to be annoying despite their orientation, and do cause problems, only ones of the "please just go away no one wants to hear you" sort. Accidental comment fave by the way, can't stand you using this to make a platform.

[MagCA68]

10:58 AM on 07/31/2011

what a total Loosr. shouldn't you be whacking to gay poor.n right now?

[Well Done]

12:27 PM on 07/30/2011

I'm ready to get bashed.....but this is biblical....this has been going on since the beginning of time.

[chris428]

07:24 PM on 07/30/2011

True...and it's about time we do something to put a stop to this type of behavior...we are no longer in the stone age

[Well Done]

12:26 PM on 08/01/2011

No way can we put a stop to this lousy way of life. Stealing, Killing, Rape will get more prevelant as the values and morals of the people in the world continue to go in the toilet. Where there is much good with technolgy, there is much bad with technogy. but thanks for the comment anyway.

[Karl Wilder]

12:26 PM on 07/30/2011

God, save me from normal people.

[Atwill]

12:27 PM on 07/30/2011

Rape is not sex. and men who rape other men are not gay because of it.

[Relpo Miraculous]

11:21 AM on 07/30/2011

Why don't they do something about it beside just look at it?
Do they enjoy looking at it?
Yes.