44. Operation Island: What do we know about male victims of rape?

The UK’s most prolific rapist only targeted men, but the case is largely unknown.

He would wait outside clubs in Manchester and offer men who looked vulnerable a place to charge their phone or call a taxi. Then he would slip the men a drug and rape them while they were unconscious, meaning that the majority of his victims had no idea what had happened to them until they were contacted by the police.

On this episode of Bad People, hosts Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen debate whether or not the police should have told the victims. And they discuss male rape myths and what can be done to make it easier for men to speak up about sexual abuse.

Warning: This episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence

CREDITS Presenters: Dr Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen Producer: Caroline Steel Assistant Producer: Simona Rata Music: Matt Chandler Editor: Rami Tzabar Academic Consultants for The Open University: Dr Lara Frumkin and Dr James Munro #BadPeople_BBC

Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland Bad People is produced in partnership with The Open University and is a BBC Audio Science Production for BBC Sounds. This episode contains audio from: Minnow Films and BBC Radio 4