This booklet ‘Who Can a Man Tell?’ from NSW Health includes information for men who were sexually assaulted as children, as well as their parents, spouses and friends.

It provides accessible information, validation and support for men who have experienced child sexual assault. Topics include accounts by men of childhood sexual assault, facts and figures, impact issues, and seeking help and support.

This new edition (2003) has been updated to include a section on issues specific to Aboriginal men who have been sexually assaulted as children, and a current contact list of available sevices.

Foreword Excerpt

This publication is written primarily for adult men who were sexually assaulted as children. It also contains information which may be helpful for relatives and friends who wish to support these men as they confront painful childhood experiences and strive to overcome the influence the abuse has had on their lives.

The main aims are:

• Acknowledge the experiences of men who were sexually assaulted as children and reassure them that they are not alone.
• Increase general professional and community awareness of the fact that significant numbers of boys experience child sexual assault.
• Contribute to a climate in which both child victims and adult survivors of child sexual assault feel they will be heard, helped and supported.

This publication addresses in general terms a number of issues which are common to both men and women who are sexually assaulted as children. The publication also focuses in depth on issues which are particularly relevant to boys and men. There are, for example, cultural beliefs and attitudes which effectively reject the notion of males as victims, classifying victimisation as a uniquely female destiny. This makes it very difficult for men and boys who are victims to acknowledge their own abuse even to themselves and doubly difficult for them to tell anyone else. In the context of child sexual assault, the consequences of these beliefs and attitudes are profound.

Download the booklet [ 1.32 MB]