Chelsea Gruenwald at The College Conservative proposes that, when it comes to rape, the real victims of victim blaming are male rape victims:

Rape Culture and the Real Victim Shaming

Last week actor Shia LaBeouf revealed that he was raped earlier this year during an art performance. The veracity of these claims are not going to be discussed in this article, instead the general response by media and the community alike to his claim, and male rape victims in general will be.

Shortly after the news of LaBeouf’s claims became public, Piers Morgan took to Twitter to discuss his disgust with the subject. Never one to mince words, Piers Morgan was quick to denounce his story. He claimed that Shia LaBeouf “invented” the story of his rape for “cheap PR.” He claimed LaBeouf is “one of the toughest” Hollywood actors and he should have “physically stopped” his rape. Continuing saying, “[b]ut he didn’t. He just let it all happen.” Piers then urged LaBeouf to “apologise” and for his defenders to be “ashamed of themselves.” So why are comments like this so harmful to society?

A new National Crime Victimization Survey revealed that 38% of rapes and acts of sexual violence were against men. This is a shocking revelation because in years prior it was believed that only around 5-14% of victims were men. Why this sudden increase in male victims? For starters, the FBI crime definition of rape didn’t even allow men to be victims. Before, the FBI defined rape as “the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” However, in 2012, the FBI revised this definition and focused on penetration, without mention of gender or force.