Doctor's take on men sexual abuse

 Sam Thenya: Why men fear acknowledge sexual abuse in marriage [Courtesy]

According to the founder of Nairobi Women's Hospital, men will typically not come out to acknowledge sexual abuse in marriage unless it has reached a point where it affects them medically. They will overlook the mental trauma and never report unless they are affected physically. There is a belief and myth within society that men lack support and therefore believe there is no need for looking for support anyway.Other obstacles include denial, fear, shame, embarrassment, and stigmatization. They minimize their abuse and attempt to avoid social stigma regarding their inability to protect themselves, and end up concealing or denying the abuse. Does this depict them as "weak"?  Society has created an environment where the man is never supposed to lose control in his relationships or he will look weak. The world tells us that men can’t be victims of abuse. So they believe that too even when such abuse is written all over their faces.

In addition, many men worry they’ll have difficulty being believed by the authorities, or that their abuse will be minimized because they’re male, or find there are few resources to specifically help abused men.In media circles, men are just the perpetrators of violence, but never the victims.