According to data, 1 out of every 9 girls, and 1 out of every 53 boys under the age of 18 are sexually abused (Finkelhor et al, 2014). More recent data reports that 1 in 6 men have experienced sexual abuse during childhood and/or adolescence (Romano, Moorman, Ressel, & Lyons, 2019). Sexual abuse often goes unreported and rates of non-disclosure are often higher among males than females. Research by Romano and collaborators (2019) state that “males’ underreporting may be partially explained by factors such as masculinity stereotypes (e.g., males should protect themselves against aggressors, sexual activity with an older female should be considered positive, males are not victims) and abuse characteristics such as fears of being labeled homosexual if the perpetrator was also male.
Boys and Sexual Abuse: The Untold Stories of Trauma | Psychology Today
2021-09-28