Male-on-male sexual assaults: An analysis of crime scene actions

Abstract

While the concept of male victimization is not a new phenomenon, the sexual assault of a male is a relatively new notion, emerging over the last 30 years in social research literature. Studies of female rape, pedophilia, and juvenile sex offenders have suggested that different styles of offending are reflected in the different types of behaviors committed by offenders at the crime scene. These studies suggest that there are three distinct themes of behavior: Control, Hostility, and Involvement. Using the crime scene actions of 305 male-on-male sexual assault from a U.K. national police database, multidimensional analysis was carried out. The proposed framework was found to be a useful way of classifying male-on-male sexual assaulters with 74% displaying a dominant theme. These resulted in 42% classified as displaying hostility, 23% as control, and 9% as involvement. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.