A specialist in helping victims of sexual abuse on Sunday urged the public to take male rape seriously after a Taiwanese comedian and a Taipei city councilor both shared about being raped when they were children.
Because of gender stereotyping, people tend to view males as strong, and not susceptible to rape or sexual violence, Garden of Hope Foundation executive director Wang Yue-hao (王玥好) said.
Rape and sexual assault are not issues that only affect females, she added.
Just because males can be taller or stronger does not mean that they cannot be verbally or physically intimidated or threatened, said Wang, who has three decades of counseling experience, including counseling male victims of sexual attack.
The percentage of males reporting sexual assault has increased significantly over the past decade, she said, citing Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics.
Ten years ago, only about 3 to 5 percent of reported sexual assaults were perpetrated against male victims, but the number last year rose to about 10 percent, she added.
The rising number of male victims reporting sexual abuse might also indicate that males are becoming more willing to seek help, Wang said.
To meet the rising demand, her foundation has set up a hotline for males seeking counseling, she said.
It takes a tremendous amount of courage for male victims of sexual abuse to seek help or share their pain with family and friends, Wang said, urging people in contact with male victims to believe their stories and show them compassion.
Family and friends should avoid sharing intimate details of the victims’ experiences with others, which could further traumatize them, she added.
Wang made the comments following a disclosure by Taiwanese stand-up comedian Brian Tseng (曾博恩), who revealed that he was raped multiple times in elementary and secondary school.
Tseng did not share whether the perpetrators were men or women, or provide further details.
As a victim of rape, Tseng said that he believes one can let go of the painful past and move on.
In a show of support for Tseng, Taipei City Councilor Chiu Wei-chieh (邱威傑) — better known as YouTuber “Froggy” — on Saturday last week said that he, too, had been a victim of rape when he was 10 years old.
The incident took place at a hospital, Chiu wrote on Facebook, adding that his attacker was a man at least twice his age at the time.
Chiu said that he did not share his experience with anyone until years afterward, because Taiwanese traditionally do not think that men can be the victim of a sexual assault.
A sexual assault is when one person coerces another to engage in a sexual act against their will, and it is a painful experience whether the victim is a man or a woman, he added.
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