A Stockholm hospital is set to become the first in Sweden to offer emergency services for rape victims ... who are male. Södersjukhuset hospital says it will begin admitting men and boys to an emergency rape clinic in October, reports the BBC. A 2014 study found men were often unclear on where to get help after a sex assault. About 370 cases of male rape were reported in Sweden last year, though the actual number is probably higher, experts say. The subject remains "extremely taboo" and "the general perception is that men cannot be raped," says a physician at the hospital, per the Local. However, "in studies, the health effects are shown to be greater for men, both in terms of physical health and mental health." Male victims, for example, have a higher risk of PTSD, and as they are more likely to be raped by other men, may encounter "sexual identity" issues, the doctor says.
The hospital already operates a 24-hour emergency clinic for female victims, accepting 600 to 700 patients each year. In 2011, 29,000 Swedish women said they were raped, though just 6,620 reported the crime to police. A report from the Gatestone Institute earlier this year dubbed Sweden the "rape capital of the West," noting it ranked only second to Lesotho in southern Africa in terms of its rape rate per 100,000 people, which was 53.2 in 2010. The Local cautions, however, that Sweden counts its rapes more aggressively than some countries: For instance, if a person is raped daily for a week, it's logged as 7 crimes; in many other countries, it would be reported as one crime. Still, during a visit last month, India's women's minister said India's rape problem paled in comparison to Sweden's, the Local reported. (Read one man's account of his rape.)
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