Extracts from report on the training of police officers concerning sexual offences on males

Extracts from report on the training of police officers concerning sexual offences on males to the Hendon Police College. (2002)

This report has been compiled to provide guidance on the impact of the new sexual offences act and implications for police training concerning the removal of all gender specific offences…
These sections deal with the rarer offence of sexual offences by a woman on a man or male minor. …. While women cannot legally rape a man section 4 of the act creates the offence of sexual activity without consent with the same penalties as section 1 for a paragraph 4 offence….
Many offences in this category are either domestic or involve child protection issues… Domestic offences may be handled as physical assault as the issue of consent can create serious problems on proof (see section 41) and in any case involving a minor the child protection team must be immediately informed….
Evidence from admittedly non-statistical sources would indicate that the number of sexual offences committed by women is seriously under reported and that the situation is far worse than for crimes with a male perpetrator and a female victim. The situation is probably worse than for male perpetrator male victim offences. Some sources claim that 90% of female victims do not report offences or withdraw them and if this questionable figure is accepted it is likely that a similar figure for female to male offences is much higher. The reasons for this are likely to include
(i) The victim believes no crime has been committed.
(ii) The victim does not report the crime due to embarrassment.
(iii) The offences involve minors or college students of a similar age and the school or college handles the matters within its own disciplinary procedures. This matter is dealt with in more detail in section 40.
(iv) The question of consent is difficult to ascertain. This will be dealt with in section 41.
(v) The police officer does not believe a sexual offence has occurred. Again a study of the London records reveals regular examples of this and the matter will be dealt with in section 42.
(vi) The attitude of the officer the offence is reported to is disbelieving or offensive. This will be dealt with in sections 42 and 43 and in our opinion requires changes to current training to ensure that this does not take place.
In compiling this report the lack of correctly filed evidence would in the past have been impossible to overcome however using the search facilities on the national database allowed us to construct a more detailed picture as to the extent of the problem than previously would have been possible…

Section 40
Several examples support this including a school in the Midlands who suspended six boys for pulling a girl's top off. This was reported this to the police for a caution but four girls who stripped a boy in the same day were internally suspended and the police were not informed. The only official record of the girls' offence is in one of the boy's statements during interview. Similarly a school in Liverpool did not report to police six girls who stripped and sexually assaulted a boy preferring to make them apologise and warn them as to their future behaviour. This case again only is officially referred to in one of the girl's pre-sentence reports for another offence…. While schools do punish girls for committing sexual offences against male pupils the punishments are usually milder than those given to boys for similar offences. …A girl's action is much more likely to be seen as horseplay and a 50/50 situation… some schools regard such offences as part of a phase girls go though and worthy of only minor sanction. For example in a school in London when a boy was stripped and then threatened until he agreed to perform a physical act to orgasm and then allow the girls to sexually assault him both he and the girls were given a demerit…. written records frequently play the incident down and frequently allude to rather than explicitly state sexual nature of the offence…ten educational authorities were asked to support this study. In no case were detailed records kept that allowed us to analyse the extent of the problem. However in one authority records had been kept as part of a postgraduate degree study and we were able to analyse these as part of our own study to support our conclusions… the study recorded 44 incidents of sexual offences against a boy by girls and 18 by a joint sex group. This number was actually greater than for sexual offences against a female even though the study concluded the offences against the girls were of a more damaging nature…examples are
(i) A boy stripped several times by a group of five girls who then painted his groin and left him exposed and on view. Both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy.
(ii) A boy stripped and sexually assaulted by a group of six girls and forced to orgasm three times by the girls. Both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy and the girls were made to give the boy a formal written apology.
(iii) A boy bullied by four girls into on numerous occasions stripping and allowing them to sexually and orally assault him. He was also made by threats of violence to perform oral and sexual acts on them. The boy transferred schools after several months but no action was taken against the girls as they denied it fully.
(iv) Two boys stripped naked by a large group of girls and sexually assaulted both to orgasm by the girls. Both boys made to perform sexual and oral acts with three girls and with each other as a price of their release. Both boys received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy. No action against any of the girls recorded.
(v) A boy stripped and bound by eight girls who was then made to perform oral and sexual acts with six of the girls and then suffered physical and sexual assault afterwards. Both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy and three of the girls were internally suspended for the physical assault.
(vi) A boy forced at knifepoint by a girl and forced to perform oral acts on her and three more girls. She was suspended for having the knife in school and the other three girls warned about their conduct.
(vii) A boy stripped and then anally assaulted by six girls before on threat of further anal assaults performing orally and sexually with several of the girls. Three of the girls internally suspended. However the boy was then stripped by a larger group of girls suffering a series of anal and sexual assaults and was again made to perform oral and sexual acts with several of the girls. This time one of the girls was suspended and both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy.
(viii) A boy stripped and bound by a group of girls in the girls changing area. He was then visited during the afternoon by various girls and made to perform physical, oral and sexual acts and to receive them in return. This carried on unnoticed by staff at least once a week for over a term. When discovered by staff the boy and three girls internally suspended for missing lessons.

Examples of joint sex assault include
(i) A boy stripped by five boys and a girl then performed an oral act on him to orgasm before he was dressed in female clothing. Both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy.
(ii) A boy stripped and bound by a group of four boys who was then sexually and anally assaulted by two girls and made to perform an oral act on the girls. Both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy.
(iii) Two boys physically assaulted and stripped by a large mixed group who were made to perform an oral act on each other. Three boys and a girl suspended for the assault.
(iv) A boy stripped by six boys and two girls. The two girls then performed an oral act on him three times and he was made to perform an oral act on each of them. Both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy.
(v) A boy stripped and bound by a mixed group and then seriously anally assaulted by a boy with a stick before being sexually assaulted by three of the girls. In this case as the boy required hospital treatment the police were involved but no charges were made however the main assailant was expelled and received a caution for assault and three more boys were suspended. None of the girls concerned however were formally punished according to the records.
(vi) A boy stripped and bound by two boys and two girls. He was then sexually assaulted by both sexes before being made to perform an oral act on one of the boys and both of the girls. He was then made to observe the boys performing sexual acts with the girls before an oral act was performed on him by one of the girls. Both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy and the two boys were internally suspended.
As can be seen in these examples where both sexes are involved in an assault it is the male assailants who are given the worse sanctions. The report comments that schools seem to regard the role of the girls as followers and that the main physical bullying comes from the boys.
In all the above examples all the parties concerned were below the age of consent however about 20% of cases refer to pupils over the age of consent for female to male offences but none for mixed group offences. Examples include.
(i) A boy stripped and bound by six girls and forced to perform an oral act on each of them. The girls warned as to their future conduct.
(ii) Two boys stripped by ten girls and made to perform an oral act with each other and then to perform and oral act with six of the girls in one case and an oral act with four of the girls and a sexual act with two of the girls in the other case. Both boys then anally and sexually assaulted. Both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy.
(iii) A boy assaulted by six girls and forced to perform an oral act on four of them and then physically assaulted to orgasm twice by the girls before being anally assaulted and dressed in female clothing. Both sides received counselling under the schools anti bullying policy.
(iv) A boy stripped and bound by over twenty girls and sexually assaulted by over a dozen girls at an end of term party. He was then taken to a private address and made to perform an oral act on five girls and a boy and a sexual act with three girls. General letters on behaviour issued and further parties on school premises banned for a term.

The report concludes that frequently the victim does not wish to pursue the matter further and quotes several studies showing that the legal or disciplinary procedures magnify the offence….

The situation with colleges matches that at schools but with less stringent discipline procedures even less information is recorded. However we were able to study records kept again as part of a postgraduate thesis at three colleges all of whom used internal security patrols on their campuses. These security personal were required to make detailed records both of reported and of observed offences both formal and informal as were residential staff. This was felt by the postgraduate student to give a detailed and accurate picture of activities on the campus. It is interesting that they found 52 cases where a sexual offence had been committed by a female or females against a male and 35 by males against a male and in none of these cases was any further action taken. In the case of the males to male offences all were classified as either hazing or drunken play and all involved the forced removal of clothing. In some cases the victim was made to run home naked or frequently he was tied to a pole or tree and the security patrol released him. However the only case of unwanted sexual assault by a male on a male was fully investigated and while the victim did not want to proceed to a prosecution the offender was asked to leave the college showing the correct use of procedures as the college records show for male to female offences. Offences against women by women were far less common but 6 involved females committing a sexual offence against a female. In all cases the female victims had clothing removed and they were left exposed. In two of these cases the complaint was followed up and a total of eight girls were barred from college accommodation. It is likely that in many of the males to male and the females to female cases the perpetuators did not see the offence as primarily a sexual offence. However the female to male offences while not classified as sexual offences in many cases had a large sexual element. While out of the 52 offences 28 involved the removal of the victim clothing as in the case of males to male offences the other 24 offences went a lot further including many that would be an offence under section 4 if consent had not been given. For example
(i) A male student stripped and covered in mud by a group of female students and then sexually assaulted by three of the students.
(ii) A male student stripped by eight female students and thrown into a pond and chased by the female students and hit several times with sticks.
(iii) A male student stripped by a large group of female students and sexually assaulted and painted. He was then chased by the girls though several of the girls halls of residence to increase his embarrassment.
The report stated that at least eight and probably more than twenty male students were stripped and sexually assaulted by a group of feminist female students over the course of a summer term… But gives no more information on this or is it clear if some of these assaults are included in the figures given above or if they are extra. More serious assaults include
(i) A male student bound to a bed by a female student and then more female students invited in. He was sexually assaulted and then made to perform sexually and orally all night with at least ten female students
(ii) A male student seized by over a dozen female students and after being stripped forced to perform sexually with four of the female students and to physically bring himself to orgasm twice before being dressed in female clothing.
(iii) Two male students stripped and bound back to back and forced by a large group of female students to perform oral acts for several hours.
(iv) Two male students stripped and bound by eight female students and sexually and orally assaulted and forced to perform oral acts. In return for their release they were made to perform an oral act on each other and then sexually with several of the female students. One of the male students was then sexually assaulted and left naked bound to a lamppost.
(v) A male student stripped by five female students and anally assaulted and photographed until he agreed to perform sexual and oral acts with the girls. This was repeated on many occasions until he physically assaulted one of the girls. All parties were warned about their conduct and the photographs were destroyed.
(vi) A male student stripped and bound by four female students and sexually assaulted and made to perform oral acts over a period of three days with these four female students and eight more women including several women who were older and not members of the college.
(vii) A male student stripped and orally assaulted by a large group of female students and then auctioned by them. He was then made to perform orally and sexually with two older female students and they anally assaulted him.
(viii) A male student stripped by ten female students and sexually assaulted so that he needed hospital treatment for damage to his testicles.
However in all cases no full investigation was carried out and the issue of consent was not addressed. It was also noted that these activities were much more prevalent during the first term when many new students were starting at the colleges…. was also noted that in virtually all cases where it was noted that either alcohol or drugs had been used by the perpetrators…. this section gives examples of quite serious assault on men by women however statistically looking at the size of sample we estimate that under 1% of women or girls are involved in an attack at some stage in either their school or college career. This is a very small percentage however only the more serious assaults would come to the notice of the authorities and assaults by single or small groups of women or girls at private addresses are unlikely to be reported. US studies give a figure of 2 to 7% and we suspect the UK figure is within this range.

Section 41
Lack of consent is very difficult to prove in the case of female aggression towards males… the new act will make proving this easier but the CPS still expect to have major problems proving the lack of consent. They argue with some justification that defendants will claim that it was horseplay and the male victim fully consented. Court records would support this, as apart from cases involving minors where consent is not an issue no prosecutions have been successful in the last two years. While the wording of the new act may give prosecutions more chance of success particularly in cases involving a male and female offender the issue of consent is still likely to be a major hurdle. A careful study of the London records would seem to indicate that most complaints are withdrawn or do not proceed because of this issue…. if a sanction is applied it was in all cases an agreed caution in return for a plea. However as with the school records the sexual nature of the offence was hidden or down played in the charge sheet. The most frequent caution given instead of an indecent assault charge was for disorderly conduct and occasionally for assault…. The records indicate however that in 38 cases a charge of indecent assault would be more appropriate and under the new act 22 of these cases would possible lead to a charge under section 4. It should be noted that this is not just a problem for male victim offences (see section 14 on male male offences) but also for offences against females. It would seem to be that a defendant is unwilling to concede to a charge of sexual misconduct but is more willing to accept a charge of physical misconduct… The investigating officer is likely to accept that when they know that a full prosecution has little chance of success… Examples include
(i) A man stripped and bound by five women and forced to perform several oral and sexual acts with them. Two of the women given a caution for disorderly conduct.
(ii) A man pulled into a van by a group of young women and made to perform oral and sexual acts on six of them before being sexually and orally assaulted. Four of the women given a caution for disorderly conduct and one also charged with a motoring offence.
(iii) Two men stripped and bound by six women and forced to perform oral acts on the women and each other in a public park. Four of the women given a caution for disorderly conduct.
(iv) A man threatened by woman with a knife and made to strip and perform an oral act on her before being sexually assaulted by her. The woman given a caution for disorderly conduct and possession of an offensive weapon.
(v) A man made by an ex girlfriend at knifepoint to perform oral acts on her and two more girls before being anal assaulted by the ex-girlfriend and then forced to watch her perform a sexual act with one of the girls. All three of the women given a caution for disorderly conduct.
(vi) A man pulled by three girls into a park and stripped and made to perform sexually and orally with them. All three of the women given a caution for disorderly conduct.
(vii) A man anally assaulted by his ex girlfriend and her mother and two more females before being forced over the next five days to perform numerous sexual and oral acts on the women and also oral acts on two more men and three more women. He was also frequently sexually and anally assaulted during this time and required hospital treatment. The ex girlfriend and her mother were given a caution for assault.
(viii) A man pulled into a van and taken to a house by six young women where he was stripped and bound. He was then made to perform sexual, oral and anal acts on the women and was sexually, orally and anally assaulted by them. Three of the women given a caution for disorderly conduct and two for assault.
While section 4 gives a clearer offence with which to charge female offenders than the old charge of indecent assault our study concludes that the successful prosecution of a section 4 offence against a female for an offence against an adult male is still likely to fail on the issue of consent. This we feel makes it even more important that proper records are kept and that police are properly trained to offer the victims support even if the chances of a successful prosecution are limited… We feel where a caution is agreed over a sexual offence and the caution is for a non-sexual offence this should still be clearly recorded in the records. Section 42 follows this point up more… however a meeting of the CPS concluded even having seen the evidence in our study that prosecutions under section 4 would be limited…The new maximum of life imprisonment for section 4 paragraph 4 offences and the advice to judges that all offenders should in general serve a term of imprisonment will make the chance of success less than 50% in the opinion of the CPS.

Section 42
…Many police do not think a woman is capable of raping a man and legally they are correct even though some parts of section 4 carries the same penalties and may change this attitude. However reports of offences again play down the sexual elements of any offence if the perpetuator is female preferring to record offences as disorderly conduct… Occasionally the attitude of police is very negative or disbelieving… An example of this is of a man attacked outside a night-club by a group of girls and stripped and sexually and anally assaulted who was arrested by the police on their arrival even though they knew the CCTV gave a very different story… The recording of sexual offences as disorderly conduct may in some circumstances be correct particularly when the issue of consent is considered however in general police are often to willing to downgrade the sexual aspects of an assault. Examples are given in section 41 but others where no action was taken include
(i) A man pulled into a car by three women and sexually and anally assaulted and made to perform an oral act on one of the women. No investigation undertaken.
(ii) A man stripped and bound to a lamppost by some male friends and then sexually and orally assaulted by six women and made to perform an oral act on three of them. No investigation undertaken.
(iii) A man pulled into a van by eight women and stripped and made to perform an oral act on all eight. He was then anally assaulted with a variety of objects and required hospital treatment. The police records indicate the officer concerned did not believe him.
(iv) A man pulled into a van by six women and taken to an allotment shed where he was stripped and bound and made to perform orally and sexually with the women until he was exhausted. He was then anally abused with a variety of vegetables and then sexually assaulted so that he required hospital treatment for damage to his testicles and anus. No investigation undertaken.
(v) A man pulled into a woman’s lavatory and stripped by eight girls and then forced to perform a sexual act on three of them before being left naked and bound to a toilet. No investigation undertaken.
(vi) A man stripped and bound to a lamppost by eight women and then orally and anally assaulted. No investigation undertaken.
(vii) A man stripped and bound to a tree by six women and made to perform an oral act on all six and then a sexual act on three of them. Police records indicate they believe he fully consented.
(viii) A man pulled into a van by six young women and made to perform sexually with all of them. He was then sexually assaulted and then bound to a lamppost in female clothing. The police records indicate the officer concerned did not believe him.

The need for training in the implementation of the new act is needed. While it may be impossible to get a successful prosecution for a sexual offence committed against a man by a woman the victim should be treated with respect and sympathy. A study in the Midlands concluded that victims of a sexual assault who receives a sympathetic hearing from the police suffers less from the long term consequences of the assault and also is much more less likely to acquire a negative impression of the police and legal service even if the police are unable to proceed with the case…. Therefore all police officers need to be trained to adopt a sympathetic and supportive attitude towards victims and initially to accept fully their version of events… Police need to be aware that offences committed by women on men are not an improbable event and that the event while probably less traumatic for a man than a male rape is still very troubling.

Section 43
We believe that sexual offences by women against men are a growing concern. They can be divided into those or a domestic or child abuse nature and those of general sexual assault…. are mainly cases where the actions of a group of females got out of hand either for reasons of social relationship or because of the consumption of drink or drugs… in adult cases both the female perpetrators and the male victim have been consuming either alcohol or drugs in the majority of cases and in the majority of cases the male victim goes voluntarily with the assailants. It is likely that many of the perpetuators do not believe they are committing an offence let alone one that theoretically carries a life sentence believing it to be a 'joke' or a 'laugh' even when violence is used. …Some offences are obviously revenge attacks either against a man or men in general and even in these cases the question of consent is raised by the perpetuators. This defence is very difficult to break down even with the new act in place so many offences will never be prosecuted. (See section 41)… However a police investigation can have a positive effect both on the victim and as a warning to his attackers…. A study concluded that 90% of sexual offences were male to female and 5% male to male with the remainder female to male offences. However our study would indicate that 5% might be a very conservative figure indeed… US studies indicate between 2 and 7% of women admitting to using physical force to get sexual satisfaction… we suspect the UK figure is within this range…female sexual victims frequently do not report the crime but male victims of both male and female assault face additional hurdles from both the attitudes of society and of the police when abused… We hope that this report and our recommendations for changes in police training and professional development will mean that male victims will receive a fair and sympathetic response when reporting an offence.

This report was part of a civilian study into police training needs. The full document was over sixty pages long and dealt in the main with male assaults on males. Another long section deals with female sexual abuse of family members. Extracts given above are from the few sections on female assaults on males who were not family members. These are shorter as the authors seem to believe that this is not fully a policing problem as a successful prosecution is unlikely. No version of the final report has so far been leaked into the public domain indeed I suspect that the report was never finally produced and was combined into other reports on police training methods.