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Effects of
Victimization on Males
Most of the literature on the
impact of abuse has been written about female victims and thus
tends to reflect a female centered perspective. There has
become, in Fran Sepler's words, a "feminization of
victimization" (1990). That is not to say that this
literature cannot be applied to male victims. There are likely
more similarities than differences between male and female
victims.
Questions typically surface in
discussions about victimization concerning which gender suffers
the greatest impact from abuse. Watkins and Bentovim (1992) in a
review of the literature were unable to find clear evidence that
either males or female victims are harmed more by their
victimization experiences. However, the question itself is
self-defeating given the wide range of peoples'
resilience and ability to cope, personal resources, the
availability of social supports, and individual differences, to
name only a few.
One problem that arises when
trying to assess the impact of abuse of either gender is
separating out which consequences are immediate or short-term
reactions from those that are likely to be enduring. Another
problem is the difficulty of assessing impact for children and
youth who have experienced two or more types of maltreatment.
Individuals, family environments, developmental and cultural
contexts also differ widely, as do things such as previous
levels of mental and physical health or intellectual or
cognitive functioning. Further complicating the matter is the
fact that most of the recent research on impact has been
conducted on sexual abuse victims and survivors.
Consequently, it is difficult to make generalized statements
about impact that apply to all victims, even of similar types of
abuse.
Sexual Abuse
Numerous factors have been
cited as contributing to an enduring or harmful outcome:
duration and frequency of abuse, penetration, use of force,
abuse by family members or other closely related person, lack of
support following disclosure, pressure to recant, multiple other
problems in the family, and younger age (Browne and Finkelhor,
1986; Conte and Schuerman, 1987; Finkelhor, 1979; Friedrich et
al., 1986; Russell and Finkelhor; Tsai et al., 1979). For males
the added dimension of not being able to disclose their abuse
for fear of being labelled "gay", a weakling, or a liar
may amplify the effects of these other factors. Even when males
do disclose, few supports and services are available and few
professionals possess the skills and knowledge necessary to work
effectively with male victims.
It is widely assumed that
males are more likely than females to "act out" in
response to their abuse. They develop social problem behaviours
such as sex offending, assault, conduct disorder, or
delinquency, and appear to be more inclined to engage in
health-damaging behaviours such as smoking, drug abuse, running
away, or school problems leading to suspension (Bolton, 1989;
Friedrich et al. 1988; Kohan et al., 1987; Rogers and Terry,
1984).
Females are thought,
generally, to internalize their response and "act in"
or develop more emotional problems, mood and somatic disorders,
resort to self-harming behaviours, and become vulnerable to
further victimization. Though there is some merit to this
perspective, it does apply gender role stereotypes, and is not
consistent with current research on the impact of abuse on
males. Males, generally, may be just as likely to experience
depression as females, they just aren't given much
permission to express it. Males are expected to be stoic and to
just "snap out of it".
Males generally do not discuss
their feelings or go to therapists for help so they are not
likely to show up in the statistics on depression. Because boys
have little permission to discuss their feelings, depression in
males may be masked as bravado, aggression, or a need to
"act out" in order to overcompensate for feelings of
powerlessness. Depressed male victims are also likely to be
hiding in the statistics on suicide, addictions, and unexplained
motor vehicle fatalities. If males are indeed more likely to
engage in acting out behaviours it may simply be the result of
us not allowing them to be vulnerable or to be victims.
However, the literature does
provide overwhelming evidence of emotional disturbance in male
victims. Anxiety, low self-esteem, guilt and shame, strong fear
reactions, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder,
withdrawal and isolation, flashbacks, multiple personality
disorder, emotional numbing, anger and aggressiveness,
hyper-vigilance, passivity, and an anxious need to please others
have all been documented (Adams-Tucker, 1981; Blanchard, 1986;
Briere, 1989; Briere et al., 1988; Burgess et al., 1981; Conte
and Schuerman, 1987; Rogers and Terry, 1984; Sebold, 1987;
Summit, 1983; Vander Mey, 1988). Compared to non-abused men,
adult male survivors of sexual abuse experience a greater degree
of psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety,
dissociation, suicidality, and sleep disturbance (Briere et al.,
1988).
Childhood sexual abuse has
been found in the backgrounds of large numbers of men
incarcerated in federal prisons Diamond and Phelps, 1990;
Spatz-Widom, 1989; Condy et al., 1987). Because males are more
likely to be physically and sexually abused concurrently, they
may be more conditioned to see sex, violence, and aggression as
inseparable. This may provide us with clues to explain why male
victims appear to sexually abuse or assault others more often
than females, why their anger and frustration may be more
other-directed than girls, why boys appear to develop a stronger
external locus of control, and why they appear to possess a
diminished sensitivity to the impact of the abuse on their
victims.
However, sexual offending is
just one possible consequence for male victims. Most do not
become sex offenders (Becker, 1988; Condy et al., 1987;
Freeman-Longo, 1986; Friedrich et al. 1987; Friedrich and Luecke,
1988; Groth, 1977; Kohan et al., 1987; Petrovich and Templer,
1984). Some males become "sexualized" resulting in
increased masturbation or preoccupation with sexual thoughts or
use of sexual language. Others develop fetishes (Friedrich et
al., 1987; Kohan et al., 1987).
Male victims experience a
number of physical symptoms similar to females. Common problems
are sleep disturbances, eating disorders, self-mutilation,
engaging in unsafe sexual practices, nightmares, agoraphobia,
enuresis and encopresis, elevated anxiety, and phobias
(Adams-Tucker, 1982; Burgess et al., 1981; Dixon et al., 1978;
Hunter, 1990; Langsley et al., 1968; Spencer and Dunklee, 1986).
Male victims also experience psycho-somatic health problems
normally associated with experiencing high levels of chronic
long-term stress, receive sexually transmitted diseases, and
become injured through rough touching, penetration or object
insertion, or, in extreme cases, are killed. In preschool boys
and male infants, failure to thrive, early and compulsive
masturbation, hyperactivity, sexual behaviour with pets, sexual
touching of other children that re-enacts the abuse, and
regression in speech or language skills have been found (Hewitt,
1990).
Being sexually abused can
leave a young male with an inability to set personal boundaries,
a sense of hopelessness, and a proclivity to engage in many
types of careless or self-destructive behaviours such as
unprotected sex with high-risk partners. It is thus no surprise
to find that sexual abuse was also found in 42% of persons with
HIV infection (Allers and Benjack, 1991; Allers et al., 1993).
Johnson and Shrier (1987)
found that males molested by males were more likely than those
molested by females to view themselves as being "gay",
a devalued status in North American society. In this same study,
female victimized males reported the impact of the abuse to be
more severe, possibly as a consequence of experiencing a
reversal of stereotyped gender roles which placed the female in
the more powerful role.
One of the reasons why a male
might be more affected by sexual abuse, is that it calls into
question his whole sexual and personal identity "as a
man". When a male is victimized he is more likely to
experience confusion about sexual identity (Johnson and Shrier,
1987; Rogers and Terry, 1984; Sebold, 1987). Male anatomy may
play a key role in forming this perception. Because male
genitalia is external, arousal to direct stimulation is more
obvious. Obtaining an erection, experiencing pleasurable
sensations, or having an orgasm is, to the male victim, physical
"evidence" that he is homosexual. It also reinforces
the male victim's mistaken belief that he was
responsible in some way because he "obviously" enjoyed
it. Contrary to popular belief, a male can have an erection and
achieve orgasm even when fearful.
Many male victims experience
difficulties in intimate relationships as a result of being
abused. They have few, if any, close friends, are promiscuous,
have difficulty maintaining fidelity with partners, form few
secure attachments, and often become involved in short-term,
abusive, and dysfunctional relationships. Many experience few
emotionally or physically satisfying sexual relationships and
sometimes avoid sex altogether. Others become sexual
compulsives, develop sexual dysfunctions, or engage in
prostitution (Coombs, 1974; Dimock, 1988; Fromuth and Burkhart,
1989; Johnson and Shrier, 1987; Krug, 1989; Lew, 1990; Sarrel
and Masters, 1982; Steele and Alexander, 1981; Urquiza, 1993).
Physical Abuse, Corporal
Punishment, and Neglect
There appears to be some truth
to the notion that violence begets violence. Children with a
history of physical abuse and corporal punishment are more
aggressive, possess fewer internal controls for their behaviour,
have higher rates of involvement in crime and violence as
adults, and are more likely to abuse siblings or attack parents
(Bandura and Walters, 1959; Bryan and Freed, 1982; Eron, 1982;
Hirschi, 1969; Sears et al., 1957; Straus et al., 1980; Welsh,
1978; Widom, 1989). Men and women who were physically punished
are also more likely to abuse their partners or spouses (Straus,
1991). The highest predictors of involvement in crime and
delinquency are: being hit once per week or more at 11 years of
age and having a mother, at that age, with strong beliefs in,
and a commitment to, corporal punishment (Newson and Newson,
1990).
There is some evidence to
suggest that adults hit as adolescents are more likely to
develop depression or engage in suicidal ideation than those who
are not hit, regardless of sex, socioeconomic status, drinking
problems, marital violence, or whether children witnessed
violence between their parents. In fact the more one is hit the
greater the likelihood depression will be a consequence (Straus,
1994).
Straus suggests four
consequences of corporal punishment. At the immediate
level it leads to escalation, where a resistant child forces the
parent to use increasing amounts of force which could cause
serious injury. At the developmental level, the more
corporal punishment is used, the more it will have to be used
because the child will be less likely to develop internalized
controls for behaviour. At the macro-cultural level,
corporal punishment creates a society that approves of violence
to correct wrongdoing. At the inter-generational level,
it increases the chance that when the child is an adult he or
she will approve of interpersonal violence, be in a violent
marriage, and be depressed.
Assessing the impact of
neglect is difficult, since its effects are likely to be
inseparable from problems related to living in a dangerous or
high stress home environment, living in an unsafe neighbourhood
or community, living in poverty, poor parental skills, parental
mental health problems, parental criminality or substance abuse
or addiction, and inter-parental violence. Here the effects are
likely similar for male and female victims. Health problems
related to non-organic failure to thrive, dental caries,
malnutrition, anemia, and low levels of immunity protection
could also be expected.
The Consequences of
"Male Sexual License"
Males, generally, have more
permission to be sexual persons in our society. A double
standard of morality has been applied to males and female for
centuries. The fact that there are no "positive" or
flattering terms such as "sowing his wild oats",
"boys will be boys", or "ladies man" for
females gives vivid illustration to this point. It is general-ly
assumed that having "license" to be a sexual person is
an advantage. Males are seen to get power from obtaining or
taking sex, women from withholding sex.
However, sexual license has
serious consequences for male victims. It increases a boy
susceptibility to sexual abuse by promoting or encouraging
participation in sexual activities. It promotes secrecy because
boys are afraid to report sexual experiences that go wrong for
fear they are responsible and blameworthy. It effects our
perceptions as professional caregivers, encourages
victim-blaming, and supports minimization of the impact on
victims of male on male sexual assault or female perpetrated
sexual assault. It causes males to expect female sexual contact.
It promotes risk-taking sexual behaviour and creates expectations
for males that they must be the initiators of sex and have
sexual knowledge and experience.
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