The Secret Lives of Male Sex Abuse Survivors

In Colorado, a state law requiring the use of a screening tool is being used to combat sex trafficking at the individual level. The screening tool identifies and offers support and protection to victims of sex trafficking – many of whom are runaways from the foster care system – and has led to multiple prosecutions of sex traffickers.

Boys Without Borders provides boys who experienced sexual abuse with a support system and educational resources to help them overcome social and mental health issues they may be facing. With the group’s 65 student volunteers, they have helped more than 2,500 boys since launching in 2020.

Prevention Project Dunkelfeld is "arguably the world's most radical social experiment in treating pedophilia." Its prevention-first approach to providing treatment to people who are sexually attracted to children means that it encourages people to volunteer for treatment and disclose past and planned crimes without the threat of being reported to authorities and punished. German law makes this possible, but in most places such crossing of lines from thoughts to action would be grounds for mandatory reporting. This policy and the program's disputed claims of effectiveness have drawn harsh criticism.

To combat high rates of sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria, the Spotlight Initiative supports several organizations providing counseling and educational services to victims and to women and girls at risk of abuse. One program from the NEEM Foundation countered the pandemic shutdown by distributing transistor radios to continue its classes for women. Another, Save the Child Initiative, intervened in a child rape case that local authorities ignored, convincing national police to arrest the attacker and providing counseling to the victim and her mother.

Stand To End Rape (STER) is a youth-led Nigerian NGO that works with sexual and gender abuse survivors by providing services, including psychosocial support and advocacy to address cultural norms of victim-blaming, shaming, and skepticism that keep sexual assault survivors from getting help. 173 cases were reported to STER in 2019 and they provided legal support to 55 individuals from those cases. STER also works with the Women at Risk International Foundation for medical care and a 24-hour confidential helpline that took 230 calls in the last 2 years, an important but small fraction of national cases.

Since the mid-1980s, Prevent Child Abuse Virginia (PCAV) has used theater to teach elementary and middle school students about sexual abuse and in the process empower them to report it. Over the course of 34 years, 13,000 students have disclosed their abuse experiences following a viewing of the play. “Many parents are very uncomfortable talking to their children about personal body safety because it gets all mixed up with the sex conversation,” executive director of PCAV explains. "The messages in the play fill the gap left behind by ineffective policy and cultural roadblocks," the author says.

Be Safe uses tools like puppets to teach young children who are showing early signs of harmful sexual behavior how to control their sexual urges and what behavior is and isn’t appropriate. The goal is to intervene early to stop the behavior from developing into something more serious. So far, all but one child who graduated from Be Safe’s program has shown a reduction or total elimination of their behavior.

Maine's rape kit tracking pilot program, designed to give sexual assault survivors more control in their investigations, works like package tracking. Victims receive a postcard with a kit number after evidence collection and can check the status of their kit online.

The Tufunguke initiative works to raise awareness, educate and provide a community for those experiencing mental health issues. Tufunguke creates a safe space both online through social media platforms and in person through events for people to come together to discuss mental health and get connected with care resources Tufunguke reaches about 100,000 people a month through its many social media accounts.

The Mind Clinic is a virtual mental awareness and counseling initiative run by volunteers, including those who are trained and experienced professionally. The goal of the organization is to create a pipeline for university students seeking mental health help. Volunteers listen to those in need, primarily through WhatsApp, and then assist them in getting the necessary care.