Perceptions of male victims in depicted sexual assaults: A review of the literature

The Disclosure Experiences of Male Child Sexual Abuse Survivors

“…As a general rule, the majority of the services were targeted for women and made finding services for men rather frustrating. These findings were supported by the literature, as it has been noted that the widespread efforts by feminist groups to publicize the scourge of sexual abuse and to promote the effective prevention of CSA has inadvertently categorized men as abusers rather than potential victims and has therefore limited the creation of services targeted to their specific needs (Davies, & Rogers, 2006;Price-Robertson, 2012). The participants further noted that limited resources for men led to extremely long waiting lists as well as long commute times to reach organizations.…”

“…Similarly, homophobic notions surrounding male CSA perpetuate a climate in which victims delayed their disclosure to avoid negative labels (Alaggia, 2010;Davies, & Rogers, 2006;Dorahy, & Clearwater, 2012;Hunter, 2011;Paine, & Hansen, 2002;Valente, 2005); fears of being labeled as a future child molester were also confirmed in the literature to be a concern for other male survivors (Alaggia, 2005;Price-Robertson, 2012).…”

“…Although sexual predators are generally believed to only be male, women have also been found to sexually abuse children of both genders (Anderson, 2011;Deering & Mellor, 2011;Denov, 2004). While Grossman, et al (2006) noted that men were socialized to be sexually aggressive and in charge of their sexual encounters; it seems that the image of women as perpetrators is a more difficult one for society to accept as their gender is usually seen as more passive (Davies, & Rogers, 2006;Hunter, 2009). Although negative 14!…”

“…as abusers, and not victims (Price-Robertson, 2012). Davies and Rogers (2006) further explained that by openly publicizing rape and abuse against women, feminists have inadvertently created an atmosphere in which male victims are either forgotten or ignored. Alaggia and Millington (2008) further noted that while research often seems to focus on cases in which men are abusers and victims are female, the media also contributes to perpetuating this image.…”

“…The authors further explained that due to the notion that men should be able to defend themselves against sexual abuse, those that do not manage to escape it, in some underlying way must have consented, and therefore their sexual orientation is sometimes put into question. Homophobia helps perpetuate an atmosphere of judgment, which only contributes to the shame and invisibility of male victims (Alaggia, 2010;Davies, & Rogers, 2006;Dorahy, & Clearwater, 2012;Hunter, 2011;Paine, & Hansen, 2002;Valente, 2005). Diamanduros, et al (2012) noted that the invisibility of male victims was fuelled by fears of being seen as weak or as a homosexual since "in our society, males are socialized to be dominant, independent, powerful, aggressive, and authoritarian" (p. 132).…”