concern

Why Men Should Be Concerned

Sexual assault affects your life and your relationships.
Sexual assault doesn't happen to strangers. Sexual assault victims are your friends, mothers, sisters, partners and daughters.
One in three of the women you know and love is likely to be assaulted during her life. The assault will likely change her ability to trust and relate to her family and her friends. She may live in fear and misplaced shame. She will need your support, love and understanding, but mostly she will need you to believe her and listen. As someone who loves his family and friends, you have a responsibility to educate yourself and speak out against sexual violence.
Boys and men can be victims of sexual violence too.
Sexual assault is about power, not sex. One in eight men will be sexually assaulted during their life. Male victims of sexual assault have a right to expect support and assistance from their family and community. It can happen to you or to your son, to your brother or your nephew. They will need to feel that they can tell someone they love and trust what happened, so they can begin to heal. They will need to be able to trust and confide in you.
Boys and men are also hurt by the sexually violent culture we live in.
Not all men rape, but all men are affected by the attitudes that legitimize and minimize sexual assault. Women never ask for it and boys are not born sexual predators. Our children grow up in a maze of confusing and damaging attitudes and stereotypes perpetuated by the mass media and our culture. The majority of men want loving relationships with the women in their lives, but sexual assault, the threat of sexual assault and myths surrounding sexual assault make developing these relationships even more challenging.

It's up to men to stop the assaulting.
99% of all sexual assaults against both men and women are committed by men. Self-defense and rape awareness and education programs alone will not end sexual assault. When it comes to sexual assault there are three types of men:

Those who rape.
Those who do not rape, but do nothing to prevent it.
Those who do not rape and work actively to prevent it.