Men in the military rarely report if they are victims of sexual assault, a Pentagon survey released last week has revealed.
The anonymous survey found that 1 percent of men in the U.S. military said they were sexually assaulted, compared to 4.3 percent of women, the Associated Press reported.
Male victims are more likely to be reluctant to come forward due to societal stigmas about male sexuality, experts say.
"In our culture in general, to be sexually assaulted is completely the opposite of what men are supposed to experience," Jim Hopper, a Harvard expert on male sexual abuse, told the AP. Many believe that "men aren't supposed to be sexually dominated, they're not supposed to express vulnerable feelings."
The survey comes during a time the Pentagon and lawmakers are trying to improve the way the military handles cases of sexual assault and increase accountability. The Pentagon found that the number of sexual assaults reported increased 8 percent in 2014, indicating victims are becoming more comfortable with coming forward.
To encourage male victims to report abuse, leaders are urging troops to intervene and report any type of assault, including ones involving male victims or civilian assailants.
"The question is, 'Is our population in the military ready to talk about this?'" Nate Galbreath, the Pentagon's sexual assault prevention office's senior executive adviser, told the AP. "We want to get them there. But it's going to be bit by bit. Because it's very, very hard for people to think about someone who is a soldier and is strong" as being a sexual assault victim.
Greg Nelsom, a Marine who says he was sexually assaulted, told the AP it was difficult for him to report the 2010 incident but once he did, he was able to heal.
"I had to swallow a lot of pride," said Nelson, who was 21 when he was allegedly assaulted by a man after attending a party in California. "It's a sense of embarrassment, a sense of fear, and you don't want to be looked down on by your peers."
Nelson, who left the Marine Corps in 2011, has helped others by speaking at conferences for sexual assault prevention.
"I had never before seen a male survivor speak out," Nelson told the AP. "I wanted people to understand it could happen to anyone."
