When sexual assaults occur, the immediate reaction is for the public to think of the male as the attacker and the female as the victim. While in a majority of cases, it is true that the female was the one that was raped or assaulted, there is one category we are overlooking — the number of sexual assaults against men.

In the United States, 10 percent of sexual assaults are committed against men and the vast majority of men that have been sexually assaulted or raped do not report it, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. In the U.S., the social expectation is that it is women being raped or sexually assaulted by men, while that is not the only case, males should also become aware of their options if they are to be sexually assaulted.

Sexual assault against men does happen, but according to the Ohio State Rape Education and Prevention Program, the perception that men cannot be sexually assaulted is not the only reason that males do not report sexual assault.

“Very little research has been conducted on the rape of men, and service providers like rape crisis centers and hospitals often lack the in-depth knowledge and skill to adequately assist male survivors of sexual violence. Survivors often struggle alone, dealing with their trauma in isolation. More often than not, they are silenced by the fear that loved ones and service providers will fail to support them in their time of crisis,” according to the Ohio State rape prevention program.

The sexual assault of any person is a heinous crime, and the gender identity of the victim should not factor into that person’s ability to ask for or receive the proper assistance in their time of need. Part of this problem can be resolved by removing the social stigma which often silences male victims, but the total resolution will not be achieved until sexual assault victims learn that it is ok to report rapes and sexual assaults.

While 70 percent of college rapes go unreported, colleges still have the highest statistics for the number of rapes being reported. That means that out of the 30 percent of sexual assaults being reported, only about 5 to 10 percent of them are male.

Anyone can become a victim of sexual assault. The gender, race or ethnicity of the person does not matter; sexual assault does not discriminate against anyone. It is not because the number of resources to report on campus are lacking. There are plenty of resources on the Iowa State campus to report rapes and sexual assaults. However, people may shy away from reporting the assault when they feel it will outcast them socially.

For women, the social stigma that is associated with sexual assaults and rapes is that she must have dressed too provocatively or that she should not have put herself in that kind of position. For men, there is the social stigma that men cannot be rapped.

The victim blaming has to come to an end. The social stigmas of reporting sexual assaults for both males and females needs more social acceptance. There should be no scenario on Iowa State’s campus where a student feels unsafe reporting a sexual assault or rape no matter the gender of the victim.

Anyone can be a victim to sexual assault, but it is time that those people stop getting blamed for their assaults and start receiving help.