‘My teacher pulled her skirt down and pushed me onto the cupboard…’

“I was maybe 15 years old, attending high school in Kingston, when my teacher took a liking to me,” Jason, 27 told All Woman.

“She took my number under the pretence that she would send me homework, and normal conversations then turned into her sending me suggestive pictures.”

He said this made him uncomfortable, as she was in her 40s, and during class hours she would flirt and touch him inappropriately. This continued for months, and culminated one day in her sending him to the library on an “errand”, after which she joined him, closed the door, pulled her skirt up, and ordered him to have intercourse with her.

“When I hesitated, she said, ‘stop being a p—- and $#%@ me’. When I wouldn’t, she pulled her skirt down, pushed me onto a cupboard, pulled my pants down, and initiated oral sex.”

He said this lasted for some five minutes, and when his shocked body wouldn’t respond, she said, “this shall continue”.

“Afterwards she would make flirty remarks, ask me to come to her house, and eventually I just stopped going to school because I couldn’t take the harassment.”

He said he didn’t report it to anyone — “I never even thought about it…”

Under Jamaica’s Sexual Offences Act (2009), rape is defined as non-consensual penetration of a vagina by a penis — a narrow definition that fails to protect male victims of rape and female victims of non-vaginal rape or vaginal penetration with an object or body part other than a penis. This means that rape is not recognised as a gender-neutral activity and as such legally the act can only be committed by a man. This piece of legislation has remained intact despite an increase in reported incidences documenting women-on-men rape. These incidences, however, have been excluded from the national rape data against the background that there is no supporting legislation in place.

What do men think about this though? All Woman asked male readers if they believe a woman can rape a man, whether or not they would feel violated if a woman took advantage of them, and if they would report it if this were to happen.

Andre, 27, police officer:

Under the law, a man cannot be raped by a woman; however, he (the man) can be violated if she takes an instrument and assaults him, I believe. I personally wouldn’t feel offended if a woman “takes” sex from me, as long as she gives me the option of using a condom. I wouldn’t report it, fearing that other officers would just make a mockery of the situation.

Marvin, 29, artist:

Yes, I believe that a woman can rape a man because if a man is not up for any sexual intercourse and says no, then it should be classified as rape because it was [done] without his consent. Maybe I wouldn’t go as far as reporting it, but I would definitely look at it as rape.

Gareth, 30 marketing strategist:

This is not a topic that I have a lot of legal knowledge on; however, from a personal perspective, I would say that a woman can rape a man. I would feel violated if a woman took advantage of me. Would I report it, though? Probably not.

Kemar, 42, salesperson:

No, I don’t think that a woman can rape a man. However, if the woman is unattractive to the man [and forces things] then I think then it would be a problem. Other than that, I think all men would want to be ‘assaulted’.

Alan, 33, bank teller:

Well, by the definition of rape it would be impossible. If a woman violates a man it makes no sense to report it because no one will believe him and even if they do, he would feel too embarrassed because chances are he would become a laughingstock.

Ssyade, 36, computer programmer:

Yes, a woman can rape a man. If a woman took advantage of me to the point where I feel violated, I would definitely file a complaint without fear of being frowned upon or ridiculed. Equal rights, they say.

Desroy, 41, police officer:

Yes, I would feel violated if a female other than my wife takes sexual advantage of me. To be honest, I cannot think of a situation in which my wife could rape me or maybe I just have a weak imagination.

Darnel, 23, architect:

Yes, I believe that a woman can rape a man because once I don’t give consent to sex then it would be a violation of my person. The fact is, I can get stimulated of course, once it’s a woman, but that does not mean that I want to have intercourse. I also would report it if the current laws are changed to make provisions for men.