By Ramona Alaggia
Abuse and violence have long been constructed along gender lines, with the dominant framework emphasizing male perpetrators and female victims. Although most sexual crimes are committed by men, this should not discount the reality that males, especially in childhood, are as vulnerable to sexual victimization as females. Reported rates of child sexual abuse have long been regarded as the "tip of the iceberg," with Canadian rates of female victimization estimated at about one in four for girls before age 18 and about one in six for boys. However, recent studies suggest that prevalence rates of sexual abuse of boys have been significantly underestimated and may be closer to those of girls. Disclosure for all children is difficult, but it might be more complicated for boys because of societal attitudes that boys are expected not to be in positions of weakness and because boys are most often sexually abused by men. Research shows that disclosing same-sex abuse is threatening for most males
From a feminist perspective, women and children historically have been vulnerable to sexual exploitation and violence because of their disempowered position in society and their relational and economic dependence on men. Males in childhood are treated in the same devalued position as women and female children. While trends are slowly shifting in gender relations, we still see generations of men exhibiting serious effects of childhood victimization that include depression, aggression, low self-esteem, addiction, anxiety and sexual dysfunction that persist into adulthood. Unfortunately, these problems manifest in ways that often result in men ending up in the criminal justice system, often for violent crimes.
Male victimization in cases of childhood sexual abuse raises important questions of gender symmetry, as there might possibly be as many boy victims as girl victims. However, significant gender differences still clearly exist when examining perpetrators, since studies consistently show that there are many more male than female perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
Domestic violence is another area of controversy where male victimization is being debated in terms of gender symmetry. Gender symmetry centres on notions that males and females are equally victims of childhood sexual abuse and intimate partner violence, and that there are as many female as male perpetrators of all forms of abuse. While clinical research indicates that women are most often the victims of intimate partner violence, population studies now claim that men are just as often victims, especially in younger couples. These results are somewhat skewed, as they are derived from sociological studies that rely on college and university samples in which developmental and alcohol factors may account for mutual couple violence. When shelter and child welfare clients are investigated, the overwhelming numbers of victims are women. The consequences of violence are also more profound and enduring for female victims on emotional and financial dimensions, and especially in regards to safety. Homicide victims of intimate partner violence in North America are predominantly women and children. Canadian census data also indicate that women are significantly more likely than men to suffer serious injuries with life-long repercussions as a result of domestic assaults. Abused women who are forced to flee relationships are more frequently left in financial ruin and alienated from their cultural communities and extended families. The consequences of domestic violence are more serious and far-reaching for women in all areas of functioning.
Gender symmetry and its relationship to intimate partner violence is a murkier issue. Many researchers and clinicians are sceptical of how women's use of violence is measured because self-defence by women and the use of violence in retaliation for long-term abuses are counted. Critics argue that these acts are qualitatively different and should not be lumped in the same category of men's violence perpetrated for control and subordination. It is further asserted that if shelters for men did exist, they would be grossly underused because significantly fewer men are abused and fear for their lives, and men have more access to financial resources to leave relationships in ways other than turning to shelters.
Male victimization has entered the arena of identity politics to claim their status as a marginalized group who are not readily identified or accepted as victims of sexual and relational violence. With this emergence come agendas for the creation of and access to resources. Men's advocacy groups claim that if services such as shelters existed for abused men, they would be filled. Men who were sexually abused as boys assert that when men disclose, there are almost no survivor services for therapy to recover from their victimization. Male survivor groups have formed in the United States and have been successful in creating service networks and raising awareness of the prevalence of male child sexual abuse; for example, they have exposed the extent of sexual abuse by clergy, which has forced the Roman Catholic Church to start to acknowledge these historic violations and to take action to prevent further abuses.
In the final analysis, what should not be lost to these debates is that regardless of gender, violence has serious effects. No one should be assumed to be free from risk. These issues should be explored with anyone seeking psychosocial counselling and need to be addressed through compassionate dialogue and effective treatments.
Ramona Alaggia holds the Chair in Children's Mental Health at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.
Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of CAMH.
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