Statement by Dawn Hawkins, Executive Director of NCOSE
Washington, DC – July 10, 2016, the Showtime series Roadies depicted the drugged sexual assault of a man by a woman. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) denounces this scene for normalizing male sexual abuse as humorous.
“If this scene depicted a drugged woman being sexually assaulted by a man, there would be a public outcry” said Dawn Hawkins, Executive Director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “But because Roadies portrayed a man being drugged, and then raped by a woman, it is considered comedic relief. The sexual abuse of boys and men is an underreported phenomenon in America today partly because of media depictions like this that send the message, “Male rape doesn’t matter.” According to the Department of Justice, one in ten rape victims are male. These victims can no longer be ignored, or labeled as “lucky” for unwanted sexual contact. I am calling on the creators of Roadies to issue a formal apology, and to make it clear that lack of sexual consent is not laughing matter.”
