By Melissa Hogle
Frequently, when victimology (the study of victims of crime) is discussed in criminal profiling it conjures up thoughts of beautiful young women and the near unspeakable things a serial killer has done to them. But that image discounts a large portion of victims…the men. Male-victimhood is very real and the idea that men can't, or are rarely, victims of serial killers is a big, and potentially harmful, myth. It’s important for law enforcement and the public at large, especially the male population, to be more aware of the potential danger so we all can stay just a little safer. In order to do so here are five common, but inaccurate, beliefs that people should be aware of:
Au contraire mon fraire, they most certainly are! The reasons they become victims are varied, some are just the unfortunate guy between the killer and the girl while others are, in fact, very much the target. Their murders just happen to be seriously downplayed or overlooked. A series of murders in which the victims are all gay men strangled to death may be attributed to a series of lover's spats or sexual encounters turned violent without a connection ever being made. And a woman who loses a few husbands might be considered to just have terrible luck instead of a possible suspect. But, in both cases, it’s very likely that those men were victims of different kinds serial killers – likely a gay male serial killer (like straight male serial killers hunting women the gay serial killer is most likely to target the culture, he feels, has rejected him) in the first scenario and a “black widow” (a woman who marries, then kills the husband, whether for profit or enjoyment or both) serial killer in the second.
It's naive to think that and also totally wrong. Anyone remember Jeffery Dahmer? He murdered 17 males between 1978-1991; murders that included a number of sexually charged acts beside the kill itself - such as rape, torture, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism. Even without those sexually charged acts Dahmer's own quote concerning what he did makes it a sexual homicide: "I would cook [the body], and look at the pictures and masturbate." He killed, it got him off, so Dahmer was very much committing serial sexual homicide and his victims were exclusively male.
Not at all. True Dahmer targeted gay men...but then he was a gay man himself and (outside the previously mentioned reason gay males attack other gay males) it was simply very easy for him to pick up a guy at a gay bar, bring him back home for sex, and then attack. Honestly the victim's sexuality has little to do with whether or not they're a victim...it's more about the sexuality, or apparent sexuality, of the killer. John Wayne Gacy, who was bisexual, killed straight men (or boys considering the age of some of his victims). He frequently offered his targets jobs to lure them to his place where he would then ply them with liquor and (straight) porn to get their guard down before attacking.
Sure, sometimes, but then so can women…That doesn't always mean they'll always win. Just like the serial killer targeting women the serial killer targeting men is going to pick a guy he's pretty sure he can take. The little guy's a pretty frequent target, so is the overly drunk or drugged (which can happen before or after the victim and killer meet). A killer might also blitz attack first - it's kind of hard to fight back if you're smashed over the head with a bat beforehand - to ensure they have total control. The killer wants to be successful no matter the victim he chooses so he'll do just about anything to make sure he is.
One name, two words: Aileen Wuornos. She shot and killed seven men, all of whom were her "johns". Think of it this way...it's a little hard to avoid becoming the victim of a female killer with your pants down and a gun in your face.