Is Minneapolis the rape capitol of the country? Statistics say yes — but Minneapolis is rare in that it includes male victims.
Minneapolis should be known as the rape reporting capitol of the U.S. because it rightly includes victims of all genders in its statistics. Why would other cities exclude a whole category of victims? (Hint: this ties back to how rape has been traditionally defined and how this is reflected in FBI definitions.) See the posted article for more. Why would Minneapolis choose to be the exception in this practice? Remember that rape statistics are one of the most misleading measures of actual criminal behavior. Areas and cultures that encourage rape reporting and provide more effective victim support always have a higher level of reported rape — but usually have a lower level of incidence. Read it here: MPR NEWS: A broader definition of rape accounts for higher Minneapolis statistics. Sometimes what appear to be the least progressive cities are actually the most forward thinking. Studies suggest that 1 in 10 males are have been victims of sexual assault. Why is this not on our radar as criminal justice professionals? Read statistics and facts about male victims of sexual assault here: RAINN: Male survivors.
CJS-360 Diversity Issues 
I applaud Minneapolis in leading the way in recognizing that men can be victims or rape. Male rape is one of the unreported “dark figure of crime” that goes unreported. As stated in the article men don’t report rape because of the stigmatism of being weak, unable to defend yourself, effeminate, and the plain shame of it all.
With the creation of task forces in various states to examine race, ethnic, and gender bias in the court, some states found various forms of court biases toward minorities. Idaho discovered gender bias in its courts, New Jersey found bias against women judges, and Minnesota discovered blacks will more likely take a plea than go to trial because of fear of court bias.
Minnesota is vastly becoming a pioneer in dealing with crime and punishment in the nation. The article poses the question is Minneapolis leading the nation in rape case? Minneapolis is may or may not be leading the nation in rape, but Minneapolis and Minnesota is surely leading the way in innovative ways in defining crime and finding alternative ways of dispensing justice.
I couldn’t agree more Layton. One thing that distinguishes Minnesota from other states is that we take our Justice System extremely serious. We don’t focus solely on women, or men but we look at the two, the suspect or victim and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. A lot of states are so quick to only point out women as being raped, and not acknowledging that it too can happen to men. It truly is sad and disappointing that the stereotype for men is that they should be “strong, muscular and the protector” . Because when things like this occur… they feel they shouldn’t come forward because they wouldn’t be living up to the ‘man’ persona. In the Criminal Justice field, we need to remember that EVERYONE is susceptible to being a victim.
I highly applaud Minnesota being forward pioneers in thinking that men can also be victims of rape. The country has a culture of excluding men from sexual crimes. It’s disappointing to see that other state don’t have this mind set and that there statistics for their states are skewed. Men then have a harder time coming forward with such crimes because they think they are less than a man and that this is a crime that only happen to women and then there for be shamed into being raped. More states should start taking the steps and actions in there criminal justice department when dealing with all crimes regardless of gender.