Justice

Kylie Jenner Just Shared A Chilling Story About Male Rape

December 23rd 2015

Reality star Kylie Jenner recently shared the story of Matteo Bologna, a male survivor of sexual assault, on her Instagram page as part of her #IAmMoreThan anti-bullying campaign. Jenner's ongoing social media campaign curates stories of individuals overcoming struggle and victimhood.  Bologna's experiences struck a cord with many of Jenner's followers, as sexual assault against men receives little attention in the public eye. Almost three percent of American men experience sexual assault or rape in their lifetime, and the number of male sexual assault victims is likely higher since some men may feel too ashamed to report their assaults.

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Bologna, who lives in Australia, revealed that his ex-partner raped and abused him during their year-long relationship. He wrote that everything was going well until his boyfriend started taking drugs, at which point Bologna started lying to friends about seeing him and covered up marks and bruises he sustained from the abuse. It got so bad that Bologna's partner drugged him and let seven other people gang rape him.

Bologna's partner even called him up one day to say there was some sort of emergency and that Bologna needed to see him immediately. When Bologna got to his house, he discovered his partner was having sex with another guy.

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"That should have been the end of it right?" Bologna wrote. That's when it got worse, he explained:

"Though a couple weeks later he texted me saying to meet me at his house because he wanted to apologize for everything that he did..stupidly I went, as soon as I arrived he grabbed the back of my head and smashed it into a brick wall, whilst choking me he forced himself on me. I didn't tell my parents about the abuse until about a year later, and told my friends that I managed to get him off me because that's what I wanted to believe."

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Bologna wrapped up the post by saying no one should ever feel ashamed of experiencing domestic violence and rape.

"It's never your fault and you should always speak up and help is out there," he wrote. "Never think [you're] alone and help isn't available. [You're] not a victim [you're] a survivor. #IamMoreThan depression, anxiety, PTSD."

Matteo received a lot of support from commenters, but he was also subjected to comments asking why he didn't just leave his abusive partner. There are many reasons why victims stick around though, and in Bologna's case, his partner argued that he was deserving of the abuse. After a while, victims may start to believe this. Many victims also stay with their abusers out of fear, both of their partner and the uncertainty of starting fresh.

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After former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice made headlines last year for beating his then-fiance (and current wife) Janay Palmer in an elevator, many criticized Palmer for marrying him after the horrific incident. This inspired the hashtag #WhyIStayed, which victims of domestic violence shared on social media to explain why they didn't leave their partners even after being abused.

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