Abstract
This article explores the journey of obtaining services for adult male survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA). Social norms and stereotypes regarding masculinity and male victimization weigh heavily on service use and on the accessibility of CSA services. Telephone interviews conducted with 17 adult male survivors of CSA were analyzed using a combination of phenomenological and interpretive description methods. Two main themes emerged from the data. The first theme, related to the experiences of obtaining services for their CSA history, explores the factors that motivated them to seek help, and their level of satisfaction with the services received. The second theme involved the challenges faced to obtain these services, including the length of time they had to wait, issues with trusting the wider system, and the difficulty finding services for men. Although different pathways exist to obtain services, the support received was generally found to be quite helpful. The resilience of the participants was noted in their capacity to seek services despite the many challenges they faced. The results suggest that changes must be undertaken at a policy level to reflect the reality and needs of male CSA survivors, and to increase their social recognition.
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to extend their deepest gratitude to the men who shared their personal narratives of CSA as well as their experiences searching for, and obtaining services; without them this article would not have been possible. This research was supported in part by a grant received by the second author from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (#410-2009-2386).
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Charlotte Gagnier, Delphine Collin-Vézina and Mireille De La Sablonnière-Griffin declare that they have no conflicts to report.
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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the McGill University Research Ethics Board-II. Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.
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Gagnier, C., Collin-Vézina, D. & La Sablonnière-Griffin, M.D. The Journey of Obtaining Services: The Realities of Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse. Journ Child Adol Trauma 10, 129–137 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-017-0141-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-017-0141-4