Rape by gender classifies types of rape by the sex and gender of both the rapist and the victim. This scope includes both rape and sexual assault more generally. Most research indicates that rape affects women disproportionately, with the majority of people convicted being men. Since the broadening of the definition of rape in 2012 by the FBI, more recognition has been given to both male rape victims and female rapists, though men continue to comprise the majority of those convicted of sexual abuse.
Since only a small percentage of acts of sexual violence are brought to the attention of the authorities, it is difficult to compile accurate rape statistics. Conviction rates differ by the gender of both the perpetrator and victim. Various studies argue that male-male and female-female prison rape are quite common and may be the least reported form of rape.Human Rights WatchNo Escape: Male Rape In U.S. Prisons. Part VII. Anomaly or Epidemic: The Incidence of Prisoner-on-Prisoner Rape.; estimates that 100,000–140,000 violent male-male rapes occur in U.S. prisons annually.Robert W. Dumond, "Ignominious Victims: Effective Treatment of Male Sexual Assault in Prison," August 15, 1995, p. 2; states that "evidence suggests that [male-male sexual assault in prison] may a staggering problem"). Quoted in ; reports that "Greater percentages of men (70%) than women (29%) reported that their incident resulted in oral, vaginal, or anal sex. More men (54%) than women (28%) reported an incident that was classified as rape." Furthermore, many rape cases take place when the victims are below the age of consent, bringing in the issue of child sexual abuse or statutory rape.
Gender differences
In the 2001 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 10.2% of girls and 5.1% of boys reported "[having] ever been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when [they] did not want to". In a 2010 study of heterosexual couples where sexual coercion existed, 45% reported female victimization, 30% reported male victimization and 20% reported reciprocal victimization. In 2011, a study supported by a research grant from the Department of Education and Science of Spain found based on a "convenience sample of 13,877 students in 32 nations" that 2.4% of males and 1.8% of females admitted to having physically forced someone into having sex in the last year.Manuel Gámez-Guadix and Murray A. Straus. CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENT VICTIMIZATION AND SEXUAL COERCION AND ASSAULT BY MALE AND FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS , 2011. Access date June 2, 2016. In 2010, the CDC's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey found that 18.3% of adult women and 1.4% of adult men reported having experienced attempted or completed forced penetration in their lifetime, and 4.8% of adult men reported having been forced to penetrate someone else in their lifetime. In the same survey, 13% of adult women and 6% of adult men reported having experienced sexual coercion in their lifetime. Kathleen C. Basile et al. National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report , 2011. Access date March 26, 2026. In a 2014 study of 18,030 high school students, found no statistically significant difference between males and females for the reported rate of having been physically forced, or threatened by physical force, into unwanted sex. Males were 2.5 times as likely to report having threatened or used physical force compared to females.
Rape of females
In a 2000 research article from the Home Office, in England and Wales, around 1 in 20 women (5%) said that they had been raped at some point in their life from the age of 16 beyond.Rape and sexual assault of women: findings from the British Crime Survey. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2011-10-01.
In 2011, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that "nearly 20% of all women" in the United States suffered attempted rape or rape sometime in their lives. More than a third of the victims were raped before the age of 18.
According to a 2013 report by the CDC, 28% of victimized heterosexual women and 48% of victimized bisexual women experienced their first rape between the ages of 11 and 17.
Rape of females by males
Many rapes by males against females are unreported because of "fear of reprisal from the assailant" and because of "shame ... and deep-seated cultural notions that the woman is somehow to blame".
Pregnancy may result from rape; the rate varies between settings and depends particularly on the extent to which non-barrier contraceptives are being used. A study of adolescents in Ethiopia found that among those who reported being raped, 17% became pregnant after the rape, a figure which is similar to the 15–18% reported by rape crisis centres in Mexico.Evaluacio´n de proyecto para educacio´n, capacitacio´n y atencio´n a mujeres y menores de edad en materia de violencia sexual, enero a diciembre 1990. [An evaluation of a project to provide education, training and care for women and minors affected by sexual violence, January–December 1990.] Mexico City, Asociación Mexicana contra la Violencia a las Mujeres, 1990.Carpeta de información básica para la atención solidaria y feminista a mujeres violadas. [Basic information file for mutually supportive feminist care for women rape victims.] Mexico City, Centro de Apoyo a Mujeres Violadas, 1985. A longitudinal study in the United States of over 4000 women followed for three years found that the national rape related pregnancy rate was 5.0% per rape among victims aged 12–45 years, producing over 32,000 pregnancies nationally among women from rape each year. Experience of coerced sex at an early age reduces a woman's ability to see her sexuality as something over which she has control.
The rape of women by men has been documented as a weapon of terror in warfare (see Wartime sexual violence).
Rape of females by females
Assault/rape by forcible stimulation of female genitalia by a female perpetrator is possible by sexual penetration (e.g., digital manipulation, oral sex, strap-ons, other dildos or other foreign objects) or non-penetrative sex (e.g., tribadism).Renzetti, Claire M. Violent Betrayal: Partner Abuse in Lesbian Relationships. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1992, .Ristock, Janice. No More Secrets: Violence in Lesbian Relationships. New York: Routledge, 2002, .Girshick, Lori B. Woman-to-Woman Sexual Violence: Does She Call It Rape? (The Northeastern Series on Gender, Crime, and the Law). Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2000, . A telephone survey conducted in 2010 for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 43.8% of lesbians reported having been raped, physically abused or stalked at some point by an intimate partner; of these, 67.4% reported the perpetrator or perpetrators as being exclusively female. In the same survey, approximately 1 in 8 lesbians (13.1%) reported having been raped in their lifetime, but the sex of their rapists was not reported.
A 2005 survey by the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) concluded that one in three lesbian-identified participants had been sexually assaulted by a woman. Fear of coming out, distrust of and/or indifference and hostility by the police, unwillingness to turn in members of the LGBT community, and a sense that female on female rape is not taken as seriously as rape by men causes some victims to be reluctant to report rapes by other women. In one publicized case involving students at Smith College in 2005, two women were charged with the rape of another, but the victim ultimately refused to testify, and charges were dropped.
Rape of males
A CDC study found that, in the US, 1 in 71 men had been raped or suffered an attempt within their lifetime. The same study found that approximately 1 in 21 or 4.8% men in a survey had been made to penetrate someone else, usually an intimate partner or acquaintance.Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J., & Stevens, M.R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Summary Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pp.1-2. A NVAW Survey found that 0.1 percent of men surveyed had been raped in the previous 12 months, compared to 0.3 percent of women. Using these statistics it was estimated that, in the US, 92,748 men had been raped in the previous year.P., Tjaden, & N., Thoennes (2000). Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequence of Violence Against Women. US Department of Justice, pp. 26. In another study by the School of Public Health at Boston University, 30 percent of gay and bisexual men reported having experienced at least one form of sexual assault during their lifetimes.
Rape of males by males Rape by males against males has been heavily stigmatized. According to psychologist Sarah Crome, fewer than 1 in 10 male-male rapes are reported. As a group, male rape victims reported a lack of services and support, and legal systems are often ill-equipped to deal with this type of crime.
Several studies argue that male-male prisoner rape, as well as female-female prisoner rape, are common types of rape which go unreported even more frequently than rape in the general population.Human Rights Watch No Escape: Male Rape In U.S. Prisons. Part VII. Anomaly or Epidemic: The Incidence of Prisoner-on-Prisoner Rape.; estimates that 100,000–140,000 violent male-male rapes occur in U.S. prisons annually; compare with FBI statistics that estimated 90,000 violent male-female rapes occur annually. The rape of men by men has been documented as a weapon of terror in warfare (see Wartime sexual violence). Seventy-six percent of male political prisoners in El Salvador surveyed in the 1980s described at least one incidence of sexual torture, and a study of 6,000 concentration-camp inmates in Sarajevo found that 80% of men reported having been raped. In the case of the Syrian Civil War (2011–2024), the male detainees experienced sexual abuse such as being forced to sit on a broken glass bottle, having their genitals tied to a heavy bag of water, or being forced to watch the rape of another detainee by the officials.Amnesty International. 2012. 'I Wanted to Die': Syria's torture survivors speak out . London: Amnesty International Publications.
Rape of males by females
Male victims of sexual abuse by females often face social, political, and legal double standards. Some cases in the United States have received increased attention and sparked awareness within the population. Sometimes referred to as "made to penetrate" cases (by the CDC and the NISVS), male rape victims are forced to engage in penetration of the female without proper consent. In many cases, the male victims are under the influence of drugs or being held in life-threatening positions. The case of Cierra Ross' sexual assault of a man in Chicago gained national headlines and Ross was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and armed robbery with a bail set at $75,000. A similar case includes James Landrith, who was raped by being made to penetrate a female acquaintance in a hotel room while incapacitated from drinking, along with his rapist citing the fact that she was pregnant to advise him not to struggle, as this might hurt the baby.