We regularly get posts here claiming that the FBI defines rape in a way that excludes most actual rape of men by women. This nonsense has been going on for more than a decade now on Reddit, so I wanted to post the facts for those that may have been deceived by these claims. This is not a post denying the real rapes of men by women and the harm they do. It is meant to clarify a false conspiracy theory perpetuated by people that are either ignorant, deceived themselves, or can no longer be rational about this topic.

We all know that in the past most or all of the US states considered rape to be a gendered crime committed by men against women. In 2013 the FBI introduced a new gender neutral definition of rape (this is categorized separately from statutory rape which has long been defined in gender neutral terms).

This definition is: penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. Attempts or assaults to commit rape are also included; however, statutory rape and incest are excluded.

The definition includes three components:

  • penetration occurs

  • someone doesn’t consent

  • the person not consenting is the victim of rape

That is in no way gendered, yet some people claimed that using the word penetration implied something beyond the plain words. They claim that since a woman forcing a man to penetrate her would not be “penetrating” him that this would not be rape under the definition. I hope my breakdown of the language helps you see that this is nonsense. The requirement is only that penetration occurs not that the violator has to be the one penetrating the victim.

The FBI data is reported in the NIBRS system under the category “forcible rape”. And how is that category described?

NIBRS defines rape (except statutory rape) as the carnal knowledge of a person without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.

Again not gendered and clearly including the concept of a man being made to penetrate as the victim. If you want to take issue with an organization that treats “made to penetrate” as something separate from rape then I suggest you focus on the CDC which is the originator of that language. Please stop repeating this lie about the FBI as it makes it easy for enemies of mens rights to portray us as delusional.