Risky sexual behaviour of sexually abused boys
By William Smith
The sexual abuse of a child all too often leads to problems with mental health in later life. Abused children are vulnerable to emotional problems, and while this subject remains taboo the silence means children do not know what to do and where to go for help. A subject that is rarely spoken of is the abuse of boys, and while a percentage of parents who have daughters will look out for and discuss sexual boundary issues, it seems parents of boys may not look out for these signs, yet boys are vulnerable too. It seems the effects of abuse on boys can lead to many difficulties later in life. A recent study 
looks at the effects that the sexual abuse of a boy can have on his later sexual relationships.
The research, which was conducted by the University of British Columbia (UBC), suggests that young males who have experienced sexual abuse are five times more likely to become teenage fathers compared to those who have not been abused. Furthermore, sexually abused boys are twice as likely to have unprotected sex and three times more likely to have many sexual partners.
The study looks at the links between sexual abuse and risky sexual behaviour and concentrates on three main areas – multiple sexual partners, unprotected sexual intercourse and teen pregnancy. The study findings can be found online in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Ten sets of survey data from Canada and the US were analysed by the researchers. The data was accumulated over a twenty year period from 1986 to 2011 by surveying 40,000 anonymous male high school students in British Columbia and across the United States.
The lead author of the study, Yuko Homma, a recent PhD graduate from the UBC School of Nursing says ‘As far as we know, this is the first study to explore the strength of the effects of sexual abuse on boys ’sexual behaviour. Our findings show that boys are also vulnerable to the traumatic effects of sexual abuse which can lead to sexually transmitted infections or teen pregnancy.’
‘Parents need to speak to their sons about sexual abuse awareness and prevention, as parents of girls do. Boys may hesitate to tell parents about an incident if parents have misconceptions about sexual abuse – that it can’t happen to males,’ Homma explains.
The researchers suggest that it is recommended that schools should include sexual abuse prevention in their health education programmes. They also recommend that health care agencies should screen for sexual abuse histories in boys and girls.
Only around 8% of males in North America report a history of sexual abuse whereas the figure for females is 20%.
Co-author Elizabeth Saewyc says ‘Boys are far less likely to tell someone when they have been sexually abused. Yet it’s clear they need support and care to cope with the trauma from sexual violence.’
