Are you sure we know that males are showing the same statistics as females? I agree: women can assault men, men can assault men, women can assault women. All can and do. My brother was molested from the age of 5-14 by a male friend of the family. However, without comparable statistics from men who are disabled or with mental illness | do not think we can rule out the possibility that this is a gendered issue. The rate that women are raped *is* higher than men. If it is about power, there is an inherent power dominance reality between men and women, as men hold and are driven by a variety of forces to seek power in ways that women are not.

I know there is a probability that men underreport. My brother took 30 years before he told a single person. This is also a problem that needs to be addressed - and is another way that gender relates to abuse.