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In Canada, the lifetime prevalence of the sexual abuse of boys is estimated at one in six (Dorais, 2009; Dube, Anda, Whitfield, Brown, Felitti, Dong, & Giles, 2005; Hopper, 2010; Briere & Elliot, 2003). Despite growing awareness of male victims of childhood sexual abuse, it is estimated that police reports are made in only 4.4% of cases (Priebe & Svedin, 2008). There continues to be little understanding as to why the reporting rate is so low. A sample of 155 male survivors of childhood sexual abuse was obtained through a community agency that provides support to this population. Data were gathered from participants’ intake forms on four variables that were expected to influence police reporting: 1) the survivors' age at the time of the first incident 2) the duration of the abuse; 3) the relationship between the survivor and the perpetrator; and 4) the sex of the perpetrator. It was predicted that the perpetrator's sex would be the most powerful predictor of a male's decision to report sexual abuse because of the ‘feminization of victimization’ phenomenon. This is the culturally based assumption that victims are female and perpetrators are male that leads male victims’ to question their own experiences and to a tendency by others to not take their victimization seriously. The findings revealed that perpetrator sex was not a significant predictor of police reporting. Only abuse duration was associated with whether a police report had been made. Other important findings were: 1) the mean age of this sample seeking support for childhood abuse was 50 years; 2) in almost 30% of cases, abuse began before the participant was six years old; 3) 49% of participants had been abused by family members; 4) 20% of participants had been abused by female perpetrators; and 5) in 75% of cases, a police report had not been made. Further research is needed to identify the factors influencing whether sexual abuse of boys is reported to police in order to enhance support services and police response. / May 2016

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Rick Scheidt / This exploratory collective case study utilized structured interviews to investigate retrospective reports of potential losses in resources resulting from childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and whether Selection, Optimization, and Compensation (SOC) “Solutions” were used by six adult male survivors to help offset these losses. Within- and between-case analyses of thematic reports are offered. Specifically, a description of each case is presented with an overview of the analysis of both unique and shared SOC Solution responses. SOC is presented in developmental research literature as a model of self-regulation across the life span. Retrospective reports of the participants suggest they did not engage in self-regulation in response to this childhood trauma. Rather, their reports evidenced the use of reactive “holding strategies” as opposed to deliberate use of selection strategies. This suggestive discovery supports previous research indicating that child survivors of trauma may have reduced self-regulation capacities. Childhood self-regulation may occur through the support of an adult (“dyadic regulation”). Findings further illustrate that the abuse may increase isolation in childhood. However, isolation, as an immediate childhood response to the abuse, may have reduced their potential for dyadic regulation as they dealt with the abuse on their own. Participants reports indicated the use” holding strategies” in childhood that were typically maladaptive. This may have led to the use of maladaptive optimization solutions in childhood that supported these holding strategies. Participants’ reports indicate that they were unable to deliberately access and implement adaptive compensation solutions until they reached adulthood, where these solutions seemed to contribute to more effective loss-directed responses. Baseline reserve capacity and developmental reserve capacity related to adaptive responding in the SOC model are discussed in the present context of trauma. The contributions of this case study to theory building in both the SOC developmental literature and clinical practice with male survivors of CSA are cautiously offered. Results may inform the theoretical reach of the SOC model, showing the limits of the self-regulation model when applied to childhood trauma. The study may inform clinical practice with this population by highlighting the importance of helping children self-regulate through dyadic regulation. Through this process, children may be guided by supportive adults to intentionally select adaptive goals to focus on following sexual abuse. Resources that male survivors may access and/or develop to adjust to the losses caused by childhood sexual abuse are offered.

Societal discourses and rigid gender norms, tenaciously reinforced by media representations, prevent men from being recognized as survivors of sexual violence (Gulas, McKeage, & Weinberger, 2010; Heber, 2017). Consequently, research on the ability of male survivors of sexual violence to acquire positive characteristics as a result of their victimization, termed posttraumatic growth (PTG), is limited (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004a). This thesis assesses the experience of PTG for male survivors of sexual violence, specifically analyzing the role of gender norms, coping styles, and service access in the production, or lack thereof, of PTG. Through the concepts of gender norms and coping, the experience of PTG for male survivors is contextualized, providing insight into how these forces individually and collectively facilitate or hinder the experience of PTG. A qualitative comparative analysis is conducted in order to establish a configuration of causal factors that are associated with the presence and absence of PTG for male survivors (N=9). Only one of the five hypotheses this thesis tests are supported; high stability (no interruption) of service access is associated with PTG. This thesis argues that the use of coping styles and service access is intertwined with conflicts between their gender and victimization, where male survivors utilize certain forms of coping or services depending on the degree to which they need to regain feelings of control.

Among the many researched outcomes of childhood sexual abuse (‘CSA’), relational difficulties have been well documented. However, male CSA survivors may experience several outcomes that are unique to their gendered experience and yet remain largely under-represented in the literature. A gap was identified in the research around the experience of the male survivor in therapy for childhood sexual abuse, particularly where it relates to relationship building. Therefore the research aimed to explore this from the perspective of the survivors, with a focus on trust within the therapeutic relationship. To achieve this, the researcher interviewed 6 male survivors of sexual abuse, all of whom had greater than one years’ experience in a therapy that focused on their abuse. The researcher adopted a semi-structured interview format which facilitates partial guidance by the new data introduced by the participant. Transcripts of the interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenal analysis with a consistent curiosity stance that allowed the researcher to partially bracket their prior knowledge. The analysis resulted in four master themes emerging; i) Finding and Connecting; ii) Negotiating Masculine identity, iii) Accepting and Committing to the process; and iv) Trust. Findings highlighted the necessity of reducing epistemic vigilance in the early relationship and the importance of negotiating power dynamics with support for challenge by the client in order to facilitate trust. The experience of masculine social expectations in a male CSA survivor is explored with regards to the trust relationship and an unexpected finding was made in the importance of group work. These findings were linked to previous research in the area of male CSA, recommendations are made for future research and implications for practitioners were explored.

As the written accompaniment for The Luxury of Tears, a twelve-minute documentary video exploring the emotional impact of sexual assault on male survivors and their partners, this document examines the visual texts of both the fiction and nonfiction genres. Specifically, I contend that fiction film manufactures male survivorship with regard to rape events in such manner which contributes to the thematization of social silence. Such silence perpetuates the feminization of rape as a social problem, and dissolves the development of male survivor resources. A discussion of production processes, challenges, and resolutions is included.

Conflict-related sexual violence against men is a largely unrecognized and forgotten perspective in both research and international policies. Reports document that conflict-related sexual violence affects men, yet detailed consideration of the issue remains missing due to the lack of comprehensive research. The existing research is scarce and focuses primarily on the policy perspective or call for increased attention towards recognizing the subject. This study has sought to increase the understanding of the phenomenon through the perspective of mass media. The objective of the study has been to examine how the subject is portrayed by the media, including how male survivors in media describe their own experiences of sexual violence regarding masculine norms and stigma. The study has been conducted as a qualitative desk study by using empirical data from news articles in online newspapers. The study has followed an abductive approach and applied an analytical framework consisting of the two theories Social Stigma and Hegemonic Masculinity. A thematic analysis was used to interpret the empirical data and three main themes were identified. The findings suggest that the subject tends to be portrayed as unusual or as an exceptional phenomenon. The news articles use similar words to describe the subject, such as hidden, silent, ignored, and underreported. The subject is also deeply associated with stigma and masculine norms, both by the survivors and in the articles. The male survivors tend to illustrate how they feel ashamed, humiliated and stigmatized as a result of their experiences. The survivors also reflect upon a sense of loss in their masculine identity and have either avoided speaking about it or been rejected by society due to normative masculine expectations.