While it is widely known that one in four women will be the victim of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault in her lifetime, same-sex acts of sexual violence are much less publicized. Michael Scarce, coordinator of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resources at the Center for Gender Equity at the University of California in San Francisco, spoke to about 25 campus peer and health educators about same-sex rape yesterday. Because of this, many rapes go unreported. At the beginning of his discussion with the peer education groups, Scarce acknowledged that women can rape men and adolescent men are also victims of sexual assault. We, as a society, are just beginning to realize that it is a phenomenon .
Rape is an act stemming from violence.
As a women's studies major at The Ohio State University, Scarce worked with the campus's rape prevention program. He and his coordinator struggled with the idea of allocating funds for what was primarily a rape education program geared towards women for a male rape education program. Finally, they decided to incorporate same-gender assault resources into their program. Some acts of misogynist violence also occur against men. We're locked into a system of women being victims and men being the perpetrator or potential perpetrators, and we know it's not that easy.