The Implications of Contemporary Feminist Theories of Development for the Treatment of Male Victims of Sexual Abuse

Abstract

The attention drawn to child sexual abuse in recent decades owes much to the contributions of feminism and the civil rights movement. Consequently most of the treatment paradigms for victims of child sexual abuse have been aimed at meeting the needs of women. In this article, the distinctions between male and female ways of resolving the issues of attachment and separation which have been identified by several contemporary feminist writers are used to discuss the challenges faced by clinicians working with male victims of child sexual abuse. This article suggests that males, more than females, tend to respond to anxiety with aggression, disruptive activity and counterphobic responses to vulnerability. This article concludes that the disruptive activity of young male victims of child sexual abuse in a necessary move away from pain and depression and is an effort to reclaim vitality and creativity.