For more than 40 years, Centre County Women’s Resource Center has been committed to helping women who are survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and its services have long been offered to men facing those issues as well.
Now, for the first time, the center is offering a support group for male-identified survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and it may be the only program of its kind in central Pennsylvania, according to CCWRC. The center continues to offer its established group for female-identified survivors of sexual violence.
While women are more likely to experience abuse, an estimated one in six men will have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18. That’s a significant number, but Jordan Gibby, CCWRC prevention educator, said societal barriers often make people unable or unwilling to recognize it.
‘Regardless of gender, sexual abuse historically has been something people don’t want to talk about, don’t want to hear about, and want to pretend like it doesn’t happen,’ Gibby said. ‘That further silences the victim and makes them feel more isolated, more like there’s something wrong about them that made this happen, which isn’t the case, of course.’
More survivors of sexual abuse are now sharing their stories, but, Gibby said, more work needs to be done to recognize anyone can be affected and that all survivors, regardless of gender identity, need support.
‘The way we don’t talk about this in regard to men, in the way men are thought to be tougher or able to handle themselves really makes it so that society doesn’t recognize that it’s happening or that it can happen to anyone,’ he said.
That was part of the challenge when CCWRC first made an effort to start a male support group earlier this decade, in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The group didn’t materialize at the time, and when a new push began last year, center staff recognized that they needed to address how men are socialized to think they have to be tougher and deal with it on their own.
That perception can leave survivors feeling alone and ashamed.
The first support group began this spring. It’s an eight-session program that lets the group build on different topics while sharing their stories. Since it’s a closed group once it gets under way, a new group begins after eight sessions to allow for new participants.
Facilitators introduce themes and educational components, but much of the group’s work is peer-to-peer, offering a safe and confidential space for survivors to be open and share their experiences.
‘Honestly one of the most powerful tools for recovery is for survivors to know they’re not alone, that someone else has been through something similar, and to share the strength and strategies they’ve used to cope and move forward,’ Gibby said.
Being able to talk openly has helped participants to better understand their experiences. A child who is sexually abused cannot be expected to fully understand what has happened at a time when they are still learning about trust in relationships and know little or nothing about sex.
‘The abuse of trust and the abuse of sex can make a lot of things confusing for years down the road,’ Gibby said. ‘Being able to piece that together and understand the way those early experiences affected them throughout their lives, and then to counter some of the misinformation this abuse communicated to them as a child, is helpful.’
One support group member, in a statement provided through CCWRC, said the experience of being sexually abused impacted his life for decades, but he had not made the connection.
“It has been decades since my sexual abuse and some tragic life events that followed subsequently,’ he said. ‘Alcohol, depression, sexual addiction and OCD have followed me over time. I was never able, or maybe did not want to, ‘make the connection’ between the dysfunction of my teenage years and trauma I subjected myself to over decades… The group helped to ‘link the decades’ together in a way that helped chart my life and brings more clarity around the events and behaviors I used to survive.”
Gibby said that CCWRC remains committed to helping women who are faced with sexual and relationship violence, but that the community also should know the center’s services are open to all.
‘This is part of a larger evolution we’ve been experiencing more behind the scenes,’ he said. ‘The truth is today all of our services are offered to men. This [support group] comes across as more of a statement, because it’s specifically for men. Our counseling, shelter and housing services, our legal advocacy, anything we offer is available to anyone, inclusive of all gender identities. It’s something that’s less known and we’re continually trying to push to get out there.’
The next eight-session support group for male-identified survivors is scheduled to begin next week, and registration also is open for the next female-identified survivors support group. For more information, visit ccwrc.org/services/support-groups. Potential participants can also contact Geoff Landers-Nolan, lead sexual assault counselor, at (814) 238-7066, to discuss if a support group is a good next step.
All CCWRC services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence are free of cost. Crisis counseling, shelter and housing services, legal and medical advocacy and all services can be accessed by calling CCWRC’s 24-hour, confidential hotline at 1-877-234-5050.
