Objective To identify the lifetime prevalence of non-consensual sexual experiences in men, the relationship between such experiences as a child and as an adult, associated psychological and behavioural problems, and help received. Design Cross sectional survey. Setting England. Subjects 2474 men (mean age 46 years) attending one of 18 general practices. Main outcome measures Experiences of non-consensual and consensual sex before and after the age of 16 years-that is, as a child and adult respectively-psychological problems experienced for more than 2 weeks at any one time, use of alcohol (CAGE questionnaire), self harm, and help received. Results 2474 of 3142 men (79%) agreed to participate; 71/2468 (standardised rate 2.89%, 95% confidence interval 2.21% to 3.56%) reported non-consensual sexual experiences as adults, 128/2423 (5.35%, 4.39% to 6.31%) reported non-consensual sexual experiences as children, and 185/2406 (7.66%, 6.54% to 8.77%) reported consensual sexual experiences as children that are illegal under English law. Independent predictors of non-consensual sex as adults were reporting male sexual partners (odds ratio 6.0, 2.6 to 13.5), non-consensual sex in childhood (4.2, 2.1 to 8.6), age (0.98, 0.96 to 0.99), and sex of interviewer (2.0, 1.2 to 3.5). Non-consensual sexual experiences were associated with a greater prevalence of psychological problems, alcohol misuse, and self harm. These sexual experiences were also significant predictors of help received from mental health professionals. Conclusion Almost 3% of men in England report non-consensual sexual experiences as adults. Medical professionals need to be aware of the range of psychological difficulties in men who have had such experiences. They also need to be aware of the relationship between sexual experiences in childhood and adulthood in men.

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Sexual abuse as a child or adult is associated with later psychological problems. All forms of sexual molestation were predictive of deliberate self-harming behaviour in men.

Fifteen years ago we summarised research on what was known about the sexual assault of men and its effects. Here we present evidence from epidemiological research that demonstrates that the sexual assault of men is observed in many countries -demonstrating the widespread existence of the sexual assault of men and the need for further research. We also present research to show that the association between child sexual abuse and sexual assault in adult females has also been found in a variety of studies on men. Finally, we also consider the phenomenon of tonic immobility as this has important implications for the wellbeing of victims of sexual assault.