Sexual Arousal in Male Victims of Rape

As an aside, people who partake of BDSM and auto eroticism may well know that sexual arousal can be a common response and side effect of fear.
There are some people who engage in forms of auto and/or shared asphyxiation techniques. These can be very dangerous as sexual arousal can peak close to death in such instances. Indeed there have been many documented 'accidental deaths' of people partaking in such activities. But this is a side issue to what I am currently writing about.

What we also need to be careful to understand here is that orgasm and ejaculation are not the same thing though they often coincide in healthy relationships. People knowledgeable about Tantra or Taoist sex practices will already know this.
Erection (arousal) and ejaculation can occur without orgasm, and for a variety of reasons;
Any touching of the penis can stimulate arousal,
Being penetrated anally can place pressure on the prostrate gland producing erection and/or ejaculation, and
The 'fight or flight' stress response also can cause erection and/or ejaculation.

The Rape Victims Advocacy Program website (read further) has this to say regarding the sexual arousal commonly experienced by (male) victims, "Male victims/survivors are often ashamed and confused when their body responds during an assault. Frequently, men who are sexually assaulted or raped have an involuntary or forced erection and/or ejaculation. Also, muscles in the anus often relax when a man is raped. This does not mean that the survivor wanted to be raped or sexually assaulted. Involuntary erections and ejaculations are normal reactions to physical stimulation even when sex is non-consensual". (27^th May 2008)

Padraig O'Morain, in his blog article (The unspoken crime of male rape) (read further) writes on Sunday October 21 2007 that, "Matters are complicated where the man has experienced a physiological response of arousal to whatever acts were performed. Indeed, some rapists aim to bring about such a response as part of the abuse of the victim and to deter him from going to the police. The response, if it occurs, is no more than a mechanical one, so to speak, and it in no way mitigates the enormity of the crime that has been committed. Nevertheless, the victim may feel shame and embarrassment and therefore be reluctant to reveal what happened". (accessed 27^th May 2008).

Wikipedia has this to say regarding physiological responses of males being raped, "When a male is raped (by a male or female) the involuntary physiological
response of erection or ejaculation cannot be taken to imply that the act was welcomed by the victim. A capable assailant, male or female, can induce these involuntary physical responses in the majority of males with force and/or with deception". (27^th May 2008).

I found this reply on a blog site apparently written by someone calling himself TechBear Seattle; "If the man says no, it is rape. If the man is unconscious, incapacitated, drugged or otherwise unable to give consent, it is rape. There is nothing anecdotal about it. And to forestall the cries of "If he didn't want sex, he wouldn't have had an erection": sexual physiology is a tricky thing. The nerves and muscles that control "preparedness" for sex -- erections and the production of lubricant in a male, engorgement of the labia and clitoris and the production of lubricant in a woman -- are closely tied to the "fight or flight" response. In other words, fear and the perception of danger produce a physiological response very similar to sexual arousal. This is a well documented field of study, routinely used in court to counter the "She was aroused and so it wasn't rape" defense, and something that applies equally well to men". (27^th May 2008)

The University of Wisconsin's Male Pages (read further) says this about victim response, "It is not uncommon for a male rape victim to blame himself for the rape, believing that he in some way gave permission to the rapist (Brochman, 1991). Male rape victims suffer a similar fear that female rape victims face -- that people will believe the myth that they may have enjoyed being raped. Some men may believe they were not raped or that they gave consent because they became sexually aroused, had an erection, or ejaculated during the sexual assault. These are normal, involuntary physiological reactions. It does not mean that the victim wanted to be raped or sexually assaulted, or that the survivor enjoyed the traumatic experience. Sexual arousal does not necessarily mean there was consent.
Some assailants may try to get their victim to ejaculate because for the rapist, it symbolizes their complete sexual control over their victim's body. Since ejaculation is not always within conscious control but rather an involuntary physiological reaction, rapists frequently succeed at getting their male victims to ejaculate. As Groth and Burgess have found in their research, this aspect of the attack is extremely stressful and confusing to the victim. In misidentifying ejaculation with orgasm, the victim may be bewildered by his physiological response during the sexual assault and, therefore, may be discouraged from reporting the assault for fear his sexuality may become suspect (Groth & Burgess, 1980). (site accessed 27^th May 2008).

A further breakdown of what types of rape women commit against males is fodder for further articles. Keep posted.