ABSTRACT
When most people think of male sexual assault survivors, they think of young boys who have been sexually molested and, indeed, that is the most prevalent form of sexual abuse of males. However, in the past decade we have come to recognize that there is a unique group of men who were sexually assaulted but remain hidden. These are the men who are sexually assaulted as adults. Little is written about this group other than an occasional footnote noting that “adult males are also sometimes sexually assaulted.” Most frequently this is mentioned as an afterthought or a politically correct inclusion, with nothing else said about it.
Joe is a 20-year-old African American man who played football in high school. After he graduated from high school, he began working as a firefighter, specifically to fight California forest fires. During his training, several of his fellow trainees grabbed him in the shower and took turns sexually assaulting him. He didn’t report this to supervisors and he told no one. He started having nightmares and was afraid to be around people. He became angry and physically violent with his girlfriend, who had him arrested and subsequently broke up with him. He was referred to me for mandatory therapy as part of his probation for the violence against his girlfriend. It took several sessions for Joe to mention that there had been a problem with his work and for him to ultimately disclose the sexual assault.
