Addressing both sides of “sexual violence”

Image: courtesy of Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

Sexual violence by women against men is increasing in areas such as social media, but does not receive as much attention as violence by men against women.

Female-on-male sexual assault – and why it can be downplayed or overlooked in social media debates – is the focus of a new study by criminology experts at Flinders University and Deakin University.

The study, published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, analyzes 28 Facebook posts from 13 popular Australian newspapers to uncover common themes, including sexualized reactions to attractive offenders.

The research highlights that despite growing societal awareness of the prevalence of sexual violence, online users continue to follow harmful and gendered expectations, says co-author and senior lecturer in criminology Dr Andrew Groves from Flinders University’s College of Business, Government and Law.

“Our research examines how social media users seem to question the seriousness of these crimes and tend to sexualize the perpetrators based on their appearance,” he says.

“Online Facebook users appear to downplay the harm caused by female sex offenders because of gendered expectations of ‘pretty women’ and ‘lucky guys.'”

Lead author Dr April Murphy from the Deakin School of Humanities and Social Sciences says misguided and stigmatised online debates can perpetuate the harm experienced by male survivors.

The online comments “illustrate a disconnect between harm and fantasy” when women rather than men are mentioned as perpetrators. “Users appear to focus on the sexual aspects of the act and what they could (or would) gain or receive from the interaction, rather than the implications as a serious crime,” she says.

“Online users seem to find it difficult to see the harm caused by women as being as great as that caused by men, or even to consider it possible.”

Denial of harm not only allows this type of sexual violence to continue – arguably against both men and women – but also limits the likelihood of support or, in some cases, enables retaliation, the researchers say.

While these harm-denying responses acknowledge the gendered nature of sexual violence, they minimize the impact of this behavior and shift blame away from the perpetrators, who in these cases happen to be women.

“Such reactions have serious consequences for male victims, as they reduce the likelihood of reporting and the perceived legitimacy of victimhood by victims and the community.”

However, researchers say there is a bright side to these harmful stereotypes: More and more people are recognizing the potential harm posed by female sex offenders.

Comments collected in the study highlighted increased awareness of sexual crimes against women, with nearly a fifth (17%) of users acknowledging the harm caused by gender double standards and more than a quarter (26%) expressing concern for male victims.