‘Men need not fear sexual violence’, ‘men can walk the streets at night’, ‘men are rarely raped’… The endless waterfall of stupidity cascades down my phone, betraying my eyes on a daily basis, to remind me of just how ignorant and spiteful many have now become. We are told by the news, politicians, and advocates, that sexual violence is a “women’s issue”, that men will never understand. We are force fed a one sided story of ‘male privilege’, and ‘gendered crimes’, splashed across our social media feeds with aplomb. And whilst these virtuous ideas might sound good, they fall apart when you hear of the monster, Reynhard Sinaga; the most prolific rapist in British legal history, who solely targeted men. Yes. Sinaga sexual assaulted, or raped, at least 206 men; his victims the same men we smugly told can ‘walk at night without fear’. He was a monstrous man. Short, unassuming, and petite; who despite his small and effeminate size, was able to overcome hundreds of men, many far stronger than he, by drugging and ambushing them whilst drunk. His evil actions were his alone. But who knows how much sooner we could have caught him, had we offered these vulnerable men a more honest and responsible insight into sexual violence? Who knows how many men could have avoided what happened, had they be given the same mindful warnings as women are? For how many times have you seen men portrayed as the *victim* of sexual violence? How many campaigns call for awareness of male victims of rape? Our society is complicit in what happened. It was our failure to inform and protect men, and worse mislead them, about the dangers of sexual violence, that allowed such a tragic story to continue so long. Singala opperated in the blind spots we created. His 206 male victims, almost none of who reported their assaults, never saw themselves as victims - because neither did anyone else. Little has changed since. The same story continues, as Singala’s horrifying actions fade into history. So when will we talk about the full shape and scale of sexual violence, and those vulnerable to such crimes? What do you think? ~ Images by Black Kiwi Hug, Ray Zhou, Gradienta.
2023-11-01