At least 1 in 6 male children are sexually abused before they turn 18 (Dube et al., 2005). This number increases throughout your life.
Rates of sexual abuse and assault are even higher in boys and men from sexual minority populations (Sullivan, 2013).
Sexual violation in gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people often complicates their self-concept and how they fit, or do not fit, into LGBTQ+ culture and communities. Such abuse may even affect their seeking help or decision to report traumatic events as they fear stigmatization or victim blaming (Rumney, 2009).
Men and women who have experienced sexual abuse and assault are at risk for a wide range of medical, behavioral, and sexual disorders (Maniglio, 2009). They have high rates of several psychiatric disorders (Molnar, Buka, & Kessler, 2001), including post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and dependence, depression and anxiety, as well as an increased risk of suicide. They also have more educational, occupational, and interpersonal difficulties than non-abused men (Lisak & Luster, 1994). Additionally, sexual trauma is linked to medical illness (Talbot et al., 2009), increased healthcare utilization (Brignone et al., 2017), and poor quality of life.
But, sexual minority men who have experienced sexual trauma face even greater health disparities (Brown & Pantalone, 2011). Gay and bisexual men with a history of childhood and adult sexual victimization are more likely to report a higher number of sexually transmitted infections, a higher sexual risk for human immunodeficiency virus, and a higher sexual compulsivity than men without a history of assault. sexual (Hequembourg, Bimbi, & Parsons, 2011). Additionally, sexual minority male survivors exhibit more negative psychological outcomes related to their sexual identities, such as lower self-esteem (Smith, Cunningham, & Freyd, 2016), a distorted self-concept, and difficulties forming healthy adult intimate relationships (Williams, 2011 ).
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The cumulative impact of sexual abuse, along with sexual minority status, can also lead to higher rates of sexual revictimization, as well as anti-gay violence and discrimination (McLaughlin, Hatzenbuehler, Xuan, & Conron, 2012).
Gay and bisexual men are also exposed to significant minority stress (Meyer, 1995), a term used to describe the sociopolitical stressors imposed on individuals as a result of their minority status. Sexual orientation disparities begin relatively early in development. LGBTQ+ people face rejection from peers and parents, hostile work or social environments, and unequal access to opportunities offered to heterosexuals, including marriage, adoption, and non-discrimination at work.
Chronic expectations of rejection, internalized homophobia, alienation, and lack of integration with the community can lead to self-acceptance problems (Hatzenbuehler, 2009). As a result, a sexual minority man who has experienced sexual abuse may feel deficient, inferior, or incapable. Additionally, they may feel ashamed of themselves, undesirable, unworthy, or incapable of forming a loving relationship.
Many sexual minority men who have experienced sexual abuse internalize harmful beliefs that make it difficult for them to heal. These myths include the false belief that men cannot be forced to have sex against their will; that men who become sexually aroused or have an erection when sexually assaulted must have desired or enjoyed it; and that real men should welcome any opportunity to have sex (Turchik & Edwards, 2012).
These men often accumulate additional harmful myths, such as that men become gay or bisexual because they were sexually abused, or that sexual minority men are obsessed with sex and abuse children at higher rates than heterosexual men ( O’Brien, Keith, & Shoemaker, 2015). But sexual minority men who have been abused are not born with these beliefs, but rather learn them from their families, religion, society, and the media. But, the more men hold these beliefs as true, the more difficult it will be for them to make progress in their psychological recovery.
These men generally do not seek formal mental health treatment (Sorsoli, Kia-Keating, & Grossman, 2008). Or they take, on average, decades to do so. This is consistent with research on predictors of participation in mental health services in the general population, as well as in those recovering from trauma. In general, men seek mental health care at much lower rates than women (Galdas, Cheater, & Marshall, 2005). Similarly, in survivors of a wide range of traumatic events with post-traumatic stress disorder, .
Furthermore, despite similar rates of military sexual trauma in men and women, men are less likely to seek and use professional help (Turchik, Pavao, Hyun, Mark, & Kimerling, 2012). Men are even less likely to seek psychological help even when they have been more severely abused through penetration (Monk-Turner & Light, 2010).
There are many barriers to male survivors of sexual abuse receiving necessary mental health care. When encountering perceived authority figures, such as healthcare providers, these men sometimes experience harsh judgment and distrust. Additionally, when initiating psychological services, they may have difficulty finding knowledgeable and experienced care providers who understand the specific nuances of male sexual abuse (Walker, Archer, & Davies, 2005) and, consequently, will not disclose their sexual trauma (Masho & Alvanzo, 2010; Walker et al., 2005).
Non-disclosure of sexual abuse may also be due to the male victim’s own lack of understanding of what abuse is. This relates to research that found that the majority of men who reported survey items or behaviors indicative of sexual abuse did not label themselves as survivors of sexual abuse (Artime, McCallum, & Peterson, 2014; Masho & Alvanzo, 2010; Walker et al., 2005). Failure to disclose a person’s history of sexual trauma is associated with increased emotional distress, while disclosure and seeking mental health services are related to psychological well-being (Cepeda-Benito & Short, 1998).
References:
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Talbot, N.L., Chapman, B., Conwell, Y., McCollumn, K., Franus, N., Cotescu, S., & Duberstein, P.R. (2009). Childhood sexual abuse is associated with physical illness burden…