Health Systems Failing Male Sexual Abuse Victims

Sexual abuse to young men and women can easily scar them for life. Many who have experienced this form of abuse will often have a hard time adjusting to the society.

Those that have been successful can still be haunted by their past and they will have a hard time coping with these emotional troubles without professional help.

Adding to that problem is a study showing that coping with sexual abuse for boys are more difficult than females. The support from various establishments is seemingly dissimilar for both sexes.

The study, which was published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, reveals that men at any age will tend to keep the sexual abuse to themselves. Even though at an early age, young men have to go through the society’s expectation that they have to be tough and will be able to endure any trouble.

But sexual abuse is not something that should be kept secret. Many are failing to report this abuse because they feel they will show their frailty.

Many men, including young adolescents are afraid to come out because they do not want to share their feelings about the situation. Aside from being traumatic, it also shows their vulnerability which they avoid to reveal.

The study has also shown that part of the hesitation of young men to come out and report the abuse is their perception that they might be ridiculed for reporting such an incident. Many do not want to be labeled as homosexual since many sex offenders are men.

There is also a popular myth that makes them hesitant to report such an abuse. There is myth that tells those who experience sexual abuse might end up abusers as a form of retaliation or due to psychological problems that came from the abuse. They do not want to be labeled as “potential sex offender.”

All the concerns about perceptions and “macho attitude” are just too important for many young adults that they opted to keep the experience to themselves.

But keeping the trauma a secret can lead to serious consequences as it could tarnish the emotional stability of the individual.

As already indicated, even those who came out successful can have some troubling moments because they did not deal with their experience in the past.

Fortunately, the perception and support on male abuse especially on adolescents are slowly improving. Awareness to this type of abuse has been highlighted as more people are coming out to tell of the harrowing experience.

They have also indicated the necessity of reporting the abuse immediately so that the healing can commence as soon as possible. Even former professional hockey player Sheldon Kennedy have joined in the crusade of increased awareness.

He is well known for his professional hockey career and coming out to reveal of the sexual abuse he experienced in the past during his junior years.

Through awareness, increased sensitivity to the possibility of this experience can be achieved which could mean better and immediate assistance to young men who experience this type of abuse.