Document Abstract
Published:
2012
Hidden Violence: Preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of adolescent boys
This MenCare briefing paper summarises results a report with the same title prepared in 2012 by Promundo for the OAK Foundation. While recognising that girls experience higher rates of sexual violence than boys, the paper seeks to apply a gender lens to boys’ experiences of sexual violence and exploitation, and raise awareness of the particular challenges boys face. Among the key points presented in the paper are:
• Sexual exploitation and sexual violence against boys are under recognised and under studied issues, but researchers are increasingly acknowledging the role of gender in sexual abuse and exploitation of boys and men.
• Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under the age of 18 have experienced sexual violence.
• Notions of masculinity and social expectations of boys and men – such as being tough and unemotional – and attitudes surrounding same sex sexual relations, can lead to underreporting from male victims of sexual exploitation.
The paper outlines work done by Promundo in pilot projects in Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Nepal and South Africa. It features in more detail a case study from the “Life Stories of Young Men in Managua” project in Nicaragua. It pulls out a number of conclusions from these projects, warning against the “ghettoising” of sexual violence against boys. This is because boys’ experiences of violence and violence against women and girls are linked; boys who witness violence as children are more likely to use physical and sexual violence against women and girls later in later life. The paper ends with eight recommendations. These include: pay greater attention to sexual violence against boys within existing SGBV prevention initiatives; make services for sexual violence survivors available to men and boys in ways that are accessible to them; and Integrate work to support boys and men who are survivors of sexual violence in the greater field of engaging men and boys in gender equality.
• Sexual exploitation and sexual violence against boys are under recognised and under studied issues, but researchers are increasingly acknowledging the role of gender in sexual abuse and exploitation of boys and men.
• Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under the age of 18 have experienced sexual violence.
• Notions of masculinity and social expectations of boys and men – such as being tough and unemotional – and attitudes surrounding same sex sexual relations, can lead to underreporting from male victims of sexual exploitation.
The paper outlines work done by Promundo in pilot projects in Brazil, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Nepal and South Africa. It features in more detail a case study from the “Life Stories of Young Men in Managua” project in Nicaragua. It pulls out a number of conclusions from these projects, warning against the “ghettoising” of sexual violence against boys. This is because boys’ experiences of violence and violence against women and girls are linked; boys who witness violence as children are more likely to use physical and sexual violence against women and girls later in later life. The paper ends with eight recommendations. These include: pay greater attention to sexual violence against boys within existing SGBV prevention initiatives; make services for sexual violence survivors available to men and boys in ways that are accessible to them; and Integrate work to support boys and men who are survivors of sexual violence in the greater field of engaging men and boys in gender equality.
