In addition to the pressures which also affect girls, boys have additional reasons for silence. First, boys are taught by our culture that males simply are not victims, (Nasjleti, 1980). "If men aren't to be victims, then victims aren't men" (Lew, 1988, p. 63). Thus, for a male to admit to being a victim is to deny his manhood.
Second, men in our culture are taught to "tough it out" rather than to ask for help. Even if a boy is able to define his experience as victimization or "being ripped off," he is likely to regard the consequences as his problem rather than asking for help.
Third, most adult sexual offenders are male. Our society is homophobic, and many young males assume that they were selected for sexual activity by a male because of some homosexual attribute. Thus, to admit to a homosexual assault is tantamount to admitting to homosexuality (Nielsen, 1983). Others believe that homosexual molestation will cause them to become homosexual. Not wanting to be labeled by peers and others as "gay" should the assault become known, the male victim "suffers in silence" (Nasjleti, 1980).
If the perpetrator was a women, the boy may feel that others will ridicule him or not take the abuse seriously. After all, males with early sexual experience are regarded as precocious and lucky. If the abuser was his mother, some boys may fear that the molestation is proof that they are mentally ill (Nasjleti, 1980). The strongest cultural taboos against molestation are toward mothers and these make reporting more devastating for a son (Krug, 1989).
Fourth, boys may fear being punished or held responsible for the abuse. The general public believes that boys are capable of self-defense and preventing sexual abuse. boys who report sexual abuse frequently encounter either disbelief or blame (Nasjleti, 1480).
Fifth, boys may fail to report due to the fear of loss of freedom and restriction of their activities. Traditionally in our culture, boys are allowed more independence than girls. A predictable consequence of informing one's parents of sexual abuse would be limitation of unsupervised activities (Nielsen, 1980).
Finally, male victims may fail to report sexual molestation with adults because the boys in some cases do not perceive the sexual activity as abusive. This perception may be due to denial or minimization in order to avoid overwhelming and unacceptable feelings of helplessness. Whatever the reason, researchers have found that some male victims report neutral or positive effects of sexual activity with adults (Brown, Condy, Tempter & Veaco, 1987; Fritz, et al, 1981; Johnson & Shrier, 1985; Sandfort, 1984).
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