Williams Institute launches project studying male sexual violence victims
By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde
Dec. 15, 2016 2:41 p.m.
UCLA researchers will help lead a project that will culminate in global policy recommendations to address sexual violence against men and boys.
The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, a research institute that focuses on sexual orientation and gender identity, will work with the United Nations and other humanitarian groups to carry out the All Survivors Project. This is the first project of its scale to research sexual violence against men and boys internationally.
The project will be funded by the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees and the Swiss government.
Charu Lata Hogg, the project’s founder director and Williams Institute visiting fellow, said she developed the idea through her past research experience in documenting human rights violations. She said the international humanitarian community does not do enough to prevent sexual violence against men and boys.
“The issue of sexual violence against girls and women is responded to,” Hogg said. “It doesn’t mean it has ended, but it is high on the national agenda. The issue of sexual violence against boys is entirely without recognition.”
Beginning April 2017, UCLA researchers will interview men and boys in countries that are suffering or have suffered armed conflict or violence, such as Syria, Sri Lanka and India. In 2020, the project will release a report that the UN will use to create policies.
The report will include recommendations on how to address survivors’ medical and psychosocial needs.
Hogg said the project is working with the UN and humanitarian organizations to ensure they respond to sexual and gender-based violence. The UN will enable UCLA researchers to speak to men and boys in areas of armed conflict, and help analyze data and develop policies that will have the most impact, Hogg said.
