This article critically examines how the police respond to, and deal with, male rape victims. It also explores male rape victims’ experiences of the police. This is an issue that has been hugely overlooked in the growing literature on the treatment of sexual offences in the criminal justice system; that is, the treatment of adult male sexual assault and male rape complainants by police officers. To fill this gap in the literature, this article will explore findings from empirical studies of police attitudes alongside an increasing amount of research that has examined the experiences of male rape victims. This article also explores social attitudes to male rape victims and the different ways wherein such attitudes influence the police responses to male rape victims. Moreover, this article recognises three barriers to the recognition of male rape: police statistics; the under-reporting of male rape; and the masculine police subculture and policing homosexuality. Finally, the article concludes by considering potential strategies for improving the treatment of male rape victims in England and Wales.
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