A new study from the University of South Australia has found that boys generally keep silent about sexual abuse and use a variety of techniques to mask the effects of the abuse. Researcher Cate Hudson said that one in six boys would be abused sexually before their 16 th birthday but it was believed that less than 10% of abused boys would report the abuse. Male sexual abuse victims rarely told anyone at the time of the abuse and when they did, it was usually many years later and expressed to a female.
The study found that abused boys commonly withdrew from their usual activities, often using drugs and alcohol td’ disguise their hurt. Others become more aggressive, belligerent and sullen in order to screen themselves from any suggestion that they were weak, effeminate or homosexual. By far, anger was the most expressed emotion. Most boys did not disclose the abuse.
