LAUSR

ABSTRACT This paper will examine students’ attitudes and responses to male sexual victimisation in England. In particular, it focuses on their thoughts, beliefs, views, and understandings of male rape. It does this by empirically researching male rape with the use of qualitative questionnaires, from 100 students of a university in West Yorkshire, England. There are some serious concerns that were highlighted by the findings. For example, the myths that “male rape is not a serious issue” and “male rape is solely a homosexual issue” (and more) emerge from the findings. This warrants close attention and analysis, given that students are a part of the community in which male rape often occurs. This paper outlines the implications of the findings. It argues that, in certain contexts, students’ attitudes and discourses about male rape are being shaped and re-shaped; this suggests that their thought patterns are fluid with regard to male rape, shaped by the contexts in which they are situated.