Gary Foster, the founder and manager of Living Well, a support service for male survivors of rape and sexual assault, says this has a lot to do with the socialisation of men.
“For males, the idea is that you’re supposed to be strong, stoic, self-reliant, able to take care of yourself, nobody’s meant to be able to put one over on you,” Dr Foster says.
“So being raped can change your whole sense of identity as a man.
Black and white photo of a man with grey hair, wearing glasses.
PHOTO: Dr Gary Foster is the founder of Living Well. (Supplied: Living Well)
“When a man’s raped, he’s not confirmed as being like other men … then there’s the question around sexuality, ‘Maybe he’s gay?’
“And a big part of the reason that men don’t come forward is the fear of being thought of in that way — so it’s important to address the issue of homophobia here.”
Men are also less likely than women to come forward.