About This Episode

Male survivors often try to forget or bury their experiences of abuse and use a range of strategies to block out the memories and feelings. These can look like drug and alcohol use, problem gambling, workaholism, and sex addictions… but frequently, they don’t make the link between what happened to them as children or young guys, and their current ways of managing their life.

The tactics that abusers use mean that survivors often carry heavy legacies, like being made to feel complicit and responsible for aspects of the abuse, and being forced to keep the abuse secret in order to protect others. This often results in feelings of powerlessness, anger, shame and self-blame.

Managing these burdens requires – in the words of psychologists Sophie Reid and Jace Cannon Brookes – “ingenious survival”. The survivors in this episode share some of their survival strategies.

Featuring (in order of appearance):

Les S, Ryan C, Jarad G, Phil S, Lindsay G, Matthew O, Dr Judy Cashmore, Shane Greentree & Brett Pickard (SAMSN, Eight-week Support Group facilitator).

Resources for Survivors:

Useful resources for survivors of male childhood sexual abuse can be found here.

Thanks to:

All our wonderful interviewees!

• Rob Carlton and Felicity Blake
• Jace Cannon-Brooks & Sophie Reid, Birchtree Centre
• Peter Bolam
• Ric Herbert for our ad

Music:

Licensed via Audiio.com

SHANE – Sebastian Kauderer: Stay With Me (Instrumental)
ADAM, MATTHEW, RYAN – Matthew Wright: Theme
JANET – Richard Smithson: Sometimes I Don’t Know Who I Am
MARTIN – The Future Reality: Iridescent
MARTIN – Marshall Usinger: Everything We Hoped For
AD / RIC HERBERT – Sebastian Kauderer: Two Big Reasons
LINDSAY, ADAM, LES, RYAN, PHIL (CLOSING) -Kevin Bean: Willow
CLOSING CREDITS – Seth Öphengon: A Safe Place (Instrumental)