"Most prolific" rapist reporting - male vs female victims

[QuentinWinters]

Was just reading that about the conviction of the "most prolific rapist" for raping over 100 men.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50987823

My impression was the reporting focused more on the impact on his victims and used much stronger language about him being a "monster" who preyed on men "just out to have fun with their friends" than reporting on rapists targeting women. There is a description of how being raped has ruined the male victims lives (previously I associated the terms "ruined life" with men who were found not guilty of rape).

So I looked up reporting on John Worboys as he came to mind as a similarly prolific rapist

In his initial reporting it is more focused on Worboys and describes him crying at the guilty verdict.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/mobile/england/london/7931975.stm

Later reporting as the scale of his offending has become clear is still much more focussed on Worboys and his reasons for raping, and more objective and factual about his MO with no discussion of the emotional impact on his victims.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-london-48702572

Seems like rapes of men are treated much more sympathetically than those of women. Quelle surprise.

OP

I too had a feeling about the reporting but didn’t look it up

What will be really telling will be how quickly anyone is up for parole.

There is a big difference in evidence though. But generally I think the media are more outraged by a man being raped, yes.

I don't think Worboys did keep notes. There's speculation that there are more victims, but we will never know.
The notes he kept were a list of excuses to use if he was caught.
The solid evidence this guy kept, especially the clear video evidence of his victims being unconscious, was why there was a clear, unambiguous conviction.
Although the crimes were similar, the way the two cases progressed was different, as others have mentioned.

But generally I think the media are more outraged by a man being raped, yes.

Heterosexual man, yes.
I think gay rape, and date rape, is very common and almost unreported.

I thought exactly the same when reading the news earlier. I'm glad other people agree.

Lol. Of course the rape of men, especially straight men, is taken more seriously by police and courts. Don't know how it's possible to deny this.

He was a postgraduate student. Result of looking up his publications:

doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2014.919118

Saw this article and after reading it, came straight here as I knew there would be a thread up.

This rapist is indeed a disgusting excuse for a human being. I am glad he will never be released, and I hope that the men raped by him can at least feel the sense of some kind of justice being done.

I do, however, agree that the reporting was more "neutral" than with male on female rape. The only vaguely suitable comparison case was the Warboys one linked upthread, where the tone WAS different - and look how quickly they tried to parole him.

More generally, when discussing rape cases from the news, so many people still seem to equate rape with sex, rather than power and violation, and so by default have a lot more sympathy towards men who have been raped, than women. People wring their hands over "the poor male victim". There seldom seems to be the default reaction of trying to almost justify the rape by picking apart the victim's behaviour or to automatically slur them as false reporters, as is almost a reflex when discussing female victims.

The thing with this bloke is that he lurked outside nightclubs and mostly picked up straight young blokes who were pissed out of their brains and had got separated from their mates - gone outside to throw up, or similar.

Because there have been such stringent reporting restrictions, we will never know if these straight young men would have been given the same treatment by the press as young women would have done had we had a blow-by-blow set of articles on the trials.

(But I'm pretty certain they wouldn't.)

I’m afraid the link given from his research is just word salad to me

I’ve already had a woman at work say the reporting at work is different “because women cope better after being attacked”.

I was nearly ill on the spot.

*sorry, I said “at work” twice there

autumn seriously?

Just a point of note - the link given earlier is to a book review he wrote about someone else's work.

I’m here after hearing the case reported on Radio 2 news. Tone and angle of reporting very definitely different from usual, especially the focus on how the victims have been affected. I was only half listening actually, and it was the attention to the victims which make me pay closer attention, because that was unusual.

I believe he recorded many of his attacks making it difficult to ‘question’.

I was having trouble deciding if there was a difference in the way it was dealt with and reported or if I was just seeing a difference because I was expecting to. Then DH came in and iwe were discussing the day's news and this came up and he said, 'I can't help noticing the difference in tone because the victims were men'.

I really hope that all victims get better treatment one day.

I suppose this is a new angle for FWR. One hundred and ninety-five men identified (so far) as having been raped - 'but what about the women?'

Quentin yes.

It looks like her manager has had a quiet word. Not to be the thought police but it hasn’t occurred to her, I guess, that there might be victims listening to her comments.

I think it’s worth noting that reports say he should never be released (and clearly he shouldn’t) yet John Warbuoys was almost released last year despite being thought to have raped/sexually assaulted over 100 women. Male rape is often reportedly differently imo and I don’t imagine that male victims are ever asked about what underwear they had on that day either

Youkidding that’s it, it’s the tone of the reporting.

Sorry to be thick, what’s the relevance of the book review?

“ I don’t imagine that male victims are ever asked about what underwear they had on that day either”

I’d be genuinely interested to know this. A friend in a rural area was attacked walking home from the local pub and when she was questioned, her reply to “what were you wearing?” Was “jeans and wellies” and the reply was “are you sure?”

Also noticing an outcry about GHB with a tone I’ve not heard before.

Wow. I’m with the previous poster who asks why this has to be a competition??

Have you just listened to the headlines and rushed on here to jump and down about it?? There was video evidence of the attacks FFS! That’s why they were believed. Most of the victims (if not all) didn’t even know they’d been attacked until the police contacted them.

The reporting was discussing the FACTS of the case. There is soooo much wrong with the way female victims of rape are treated but wishing for the same for men is NOT the answer.

Goodness I hope nobody wishes worse treatment for men. I would hope we all want better treatment for all victims. If anything I think people are saying that this is more the way all rape cases should be reported. Factually and with an emphasis on the suffering of the victims.

Yep, nasty thread which seeks to pit male rape against female rape and try and promote one as 'better / worse'. I knew it wouldn't take long on here. How very 'feminist' of some posters .

Read the bloody facts before launching into your misandry. .

Sharon “ There is soooo much wrong with the way female victims of rape are treated but wishing for the same for men is NOT the answer. ”

That’s not what anyone said.