"The Unheard Voices": Lived Experiences of Sexual Abuse in Male Survivors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Victims of sexual abuse face unique emotional challenges. Among them, the male survivors of sexual assault have largely been neglected in the literature, being traditionally considered "against the norm" and symbolic of reduced masculinity.

Methods

Qualitative approach was used to study the lived experiences of five (three heterosexual and two homosexual) male survivors of sexual abuse. In-depth interviews were conducted with consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

Results

Commonality in the experiences of abuse (the identity of the abuser, nature of agony), perspectives of sharing the abuse history (lack of acceptance of "male" victimhood, the openness of the opposite gender, family reactions), and

SUBMITTER: Das S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9460026 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature