Figures from the National Crime Prevention Council (Brottsförebyggande rådet, Brå) show that 132 men reported being raped in 2012, compared with 94 reports filed in 2010 and more than three times as many as the 41 reports filed in 2007.

“We know from research that the rapists are usually heterosexual men; for the offenders the act is not about sexuality but about power,” social work lecturer Hans Knutagård told the Metro newspaper.

He added that male rape victims can sometimes feel that they’ve been “turned into a homosexual”.

Hot lines and sexual health organizations testify to a growing number of men who contact them for help and support following an assault. Yet, many do not go further and report the crime to the police.

“No, they’re too ashamed,” Jane Eriksson, chair of the anti-sexual violence NGO Hopp in Katrineholm, told the newspaper.

The Crime Prevention council estimates that only 23 percent of all rapes are reported to the police, and even fewer make it to trial.

In the first half of 2012, only six of 61 reported rapes against men resulted in criminal indictments.

In 2011, the clearance rate for rapes against men was 10 percent, the same clearance rate as rapes against women.

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