Perpetrator-Level Correlates of Sexually Victimized Males' Help-Seeking Behavior: A Secondary Data Analysis Utilizing the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey

Background:Men are reluctant to seek services and support, including those related to sexual victimization. This reluctance leads to decreased social support and treatment for male victims. Perpetrator characteristics (such as gender, age, race, and relationship with victim) have been found to be related to help-seeking among victims of sexual violence. Though most studies related to sexual assault focus on female victims and perpetrators, it is possible that these explanatory variables are similarly related to help-seeking behavior among male victims. Understanding relationships between perpetrator characteristics and the help-seeking behaviors of their male victims is a step toward increasing access to services for sexually victimized males. This study seeks to explore the relationship between perpetrator characteristics and the presence of help-seeking behavior among male victims of sexual violence. 

Methods: This study utilizes data from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) 2010 to explore associations between perpetrator characteristic variables (gender of perpetrator, relationship between victim and perpetrator, large age difference between younger victim and older perpetrator, and race of perpetrator in relation to victim) and help-seeking behaviors at three levels (general help-seeking, formal help-seeking, and seeking mental health services) among male victims (n=1,445) between whom have 3,099 perpetrators, utilizing descriptive and bivariate statistics, as well as multilevel logistic regressions with a Poisson link function. 

Results: Gender of perpetrator was predictive of general help-seeking and formal help-seeking; having been victimized by a male perpetrator is associated with a 31% increase in the proportion of individuals seeking general help for incidents involving that perpetrator and an 86% increase in the proportion of individuals seeking formal help for incidents involving that perpetrator. Being victimized by a friend/acquaintance/family member is associated with an 81% increase in the proportion of individuals seeking mental health services for incidents involving that perpetrator. Intimate partner perpetrators were predictive of increased use of all levels of help-seeking (24% increase in the proportion of individuals seeking general help; 117% increase in the proportion of individuals seeking formal help for incidents involving that perpetrator; 63% increase in proportion of individuals seeking mental health services for incidents involving that perpetrator). The presence of a large age difference between a younger victim and an older perpetrator is associated with an 74% increase in the proportion of individuals seeking formal help for incidents involving that perpetrator. 

Conclusion: These results will be discussed in relation to the existing body of literature and in the context of masculinity theories and male rape myths. Some recommendations that stem from this study include increased awareness among clinicians and increased outreach by macro social workers that both victims and perpetrators may be any gender. Additionally, acknowledgment of the unique barriers to seeking help for for male victims based on gender of perpetrator and relationship to the perpetrator and understanding how these barriers may be related to theories of masculinity may be useful to clinicians.