Abuse is a Boy Problem Too

There have been a few articles in the last two months regarding the rape of boys by women. Although these articles do not generally make it to the mainstream media, they are an important part of increasing the male narrative in the public discourse, and bringing them to the attention of others helps expand that reach.

• Dance teacher, 24, raped boy, 15, and drove him to drink with her sex attacks

• Illinois woman, 65, arrested for having sex multiple times with teenage boy who was a family friend

Additionally, GIBM has reached out to columnists to encourage them to start using the appropriate language when females are the perpetrators and males are the victims of rape. In the case of 65-year-old Sharilyn Whittaker, the sentence "Whittaker committed the act of sexual penetration upon a male minor" was used to seemingly describe the rape of a 15-year-old boy. Instead, we have encouraged columnists and others to use the term forced envelopment to more accurately describe rape when the female is the perpetrator and the male the victim. In the Whittaker case, the language might suggest the male was penetrated, which is possible, but the vagueness creates challenges. The language may seem like a subtle difference, but it's tremendously important to distinguish forced penetration from forced envelopment and insist upon its use in laws. In 2018, Samantha Ray Mears was not charged with rape when she used a machete to force herself onto her ex-boyfriend. Forced envelopment is not part of many sexual assault laws and (if I remember correctly) the reason Mears was charged with aggravated burglary and assault with a weapon but not additionally the crime of rape.