Male students at Brown University have begun to speak out and address the issues of male assault on campus. Several incidents of rape have occurred within the past five years at the university and victims of sexual assault have started to share their stories in order to raise awareness and allow others to be taken seriously.

“It’s time to include male survivors’ voices,” said a male student named Andrew. “We are up against a system that’s not designed to help us.”

Andrew (who did not wish to share his last name) was a freshmen at Brown University. On September 5, 2011 he was approached in the communal bathroom by a person he had not seen before. The man had given him several compliments before proceeding to make unwanted advances. After protesting, Andrew was forced into the bathroom stall and assaulted for 15 minutes.

“I didn’t even know his name. I didn’t know who he was. Nobody saw anything,” said Andrew.

Brenton (who chose to not release his full name) was a fellow Brown student that was assaulted by the same person as Andrew. In September of 2011 Brenton was raped yet did not tell anyone of his encounter. He did not speak up until another victim (of the same attacker) came forth and reported the incident with him. Together they were able to suspend the man who had attacked them until he was expelled following Andrew’s official hearing. Both Andrew and Brenton have decided to share their stories now in hopes of letting other become heard and speak up against their assailants without fear of humiliation or disregard.

“I was happy that he got suspended, but I didn’t think it was enough. I knew there were even more people he had gotten to,” Brenton said.

Men are commonly ridiculed and disregarded as a result of claiming rape. About 3% of American men have experienced attempted rape at some point in their life. In the U.S 10% of all rape victims are male and studies have shown that victims of rape are thirteen times more likely to attempt suicide. Many organizations have formed in order to protect and aid male rape victims such as Father’s Touch, Hope for Healing and 1in6.

“Culturally we still don’t want to see men as vulnerable or hurt,” LaPore explained. “We tell little boys and men to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Because of the stigma, there are fewer resources available for male victims,” said Steve LePore, founder and director of 1in6.

Brown responded to these incidents by revising the policy on sexual assault. A letter was sent out to the Brown community by president Christina Paxon outlining the updated policies as well as the sanctions for violations of the policies. Many incidents of male rape have been taken very lightly and assailants have not faced proper punishments. After a sexual assault incident involving female student, Lena Sclove, in early August, the university has been working towards improving their focus on campus sexual assault.

“We are encouraged that as a result of increased attention, awareness, and resources, more students are reporting incidents of sexual misconduct when they occur. At the same time, we expect individuals and organizations to be vigilant in their efforts to prevent and to intervene in harmful situations,” stated the letter by the Vice President for Planning and Policy, Russel Carey.

FSA Connection Questions

1. What is the author’s main idea
2. In the article, the word assailants means what?
3. Select a sentence from that article that best supports the main idea.
4. How can the article best be summarized?
5. In what ways does Brown hope to strengthen their policies?