How is a male survivor defined?
A male survivor of childhood sexual abuse is any male who has experienced any kind of sexual abuse at any time during their childhood or teen years. This abuse can be overtly physical which can take the form of fondling, caressing, kissing or any form of penetration and it could also be any kind of seductive verbal display by an adult. The abusers of male survivors could be anyone from family members, religious leaders, family friends, neighbors or outright strangers. Male survivors often feel that they are responsible for the abuse, and can be overwhelmed by fears, anxiety, guilt, anger and a number of other and often conflicting emotions. Oftentimes, male survivors do not feel they can address this abuse until later in life during adulthood. Sometimes the abuse was a specific incident that was not repeated. In other cases, the abuse was repeated many times and can often extend over a period of years.
