Survivors UK: A Struggle To Survive

The rape and sexual abuse of men and boys is one of the least recognised, discussed or reported crimes in our society. Despite this stigma, more men in London are coming forward to report sexual assaults and taking the courageous step of asking for help:

In 2014, in London, 307 men reported being raped to the Metropolitan Police – an increase of 120% over 2012 figures

In 2014, in London, 518 men reported experiencing a serious sexual assault to the Metropolitan Police – an increase of 80% over 2012 figures

In 2014, in London, 20%+ of all reports of serious sexual crimes were against men

In London, in 2014, it is estimated that there are more than 300,000 adult male survivors of childhood sexual abuse

In 2014, in London, The Mayor spent £1,292,666 providing specialist support services for victims of sexual assault in London.

Of that, £32,666 (2.5%) was spent on specialist services supporting men and boys...

In 2015, in London, funding to specialist male sexual violence services has been cut to £0.

Survivors UK.

Their petition to Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

I was raped by another man. And now the government wants to take away the one thing that saved my life, Independent Voices.

Male Rape: And Words As Weapons

Yesterday's The Sun Sunday began its front page story with these lines; "A YOUNG squaddie at Prince Harry's Army base was the victim of a shocking gay sex attack, it was claimed last night. A drunken gang of three soldiers allegedly pinned him down as he slept at Wattisham, Suffolk..."
This is terrible terminology.
Why did The Sun use the phrase "gay sex attack", and not "sex attack?
Monday's tabloids usually repeat their rivals' Sunday scoops - sometimes they even give attribution - but the Express, Mirror and Star all appear to have ignored this story.
The Daily Mail ran it, using the same strange phrase as The Sun; "A young soldier at Prince Harry's army base was the victim of a drunken gay sex attack, it was claimed yesterday."
The only broadsheets to cover the story, The Times and The Independent, both used simply "sex attack".
Shamefully, Gay Star News wrote; "A young soldier at Prince Harry's UK army base was allegedly pinned down and assualted [sic] during a 'horrifying' gay sex attack."
A journalist writing for the gay media really should know better than this.
Much better.
(Pink News wrote of a "male sexual assault" or "sexual assault", Pink Paper said a man had allegedly been "sexually assaulted").
As Patrick Strudwick wrote in The Times last month; "The language we use only seems to collude with the stigma. The rape of men is routinely referred to as “gay rape” belying the mistaken belief that rape is about sex — rather than power — and therefore that it must be performed by, or to, gay men."
Tellingly, this is one of only two articles about male rape in the British press I'm aware of in the three years I've been writing Fagburn.
The other was in The Observer.
The strapline read; "Will Storr travels to Uganda to meet traumatised survivors, and reveals how male rape is endemic in many of the world's conflicts."
That Storr was writing about soldiers and civilian casualties in war zones reinforces how male rape and sexual assault are often about power - and there's nothing "gay" about them.

•  The image shows a poster produced earlier this year by Survivors UK.
"The helpline is for adult men (18 and over) who have experienced childhood sexual abuse or adult sexual assault/rape, as well as their partners and carers."