Coming from a light-hearted episode with Rianna James, we will be shifting gears this week and discuss something more serious. A little somber for the holidays, but definitely worthwhile to listen to raise awareness on a subject not usually talked about but is relevant and must not be left on the sidelines.

To give you a background, our guest is Don Wright, the founder and Executive Director of the British Columbia Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse (BCSMSSA). He pioneered professionals to provide therapy and treatment in the sexual abuse field. He was awarded by the B.C. Human Right Coalition with a human rights medal of honor for his work in this field.

Our insightful and relevant discussion today will leave you with some key takeaways and new learnings, including:

• The four facilities focusing on male sexual abuse in Canada; One in BC under Don Wright; the Men’s Project in Ottawa which lost funding but was continued under private practice as Men’s Healing; one in Winnipeg; and another in Calgary (4:37).
• How BCSMSSA has been sourcing its funds with the help of the BC government (6:05).
• What was the reason Don started this movement, what set of events led to him forming it, and how he operated it from then to what it is now (7:26)?
• Do men get sexually abused and how prevalent is it (10:07)?
• The broader concept of sexuality abuse, which encompasses all experiences associated with sexual abuse plus covert experiences including indirect but intrusive contact, and discrimination based on sexual orientation (12:17).
• The percentage split of boys and girls prior age 13 that have experienced some form of sexual abuse, and how numbers or percentage by gender should never be the qualifier or grounds whether therapy is available, or to validate the need for it (14:15).
• The percentage of women perpetrators in male sexuality abuse, the instances of young boys having sexual relations with older women, and the double standards that come into play with how people view sexual abuse (16:26).
• The shame, confusion, other emotions, and dissociation that are results of manipulation and being sexuality abused (19:57).
• An even more complex effect of abuse that manifested in one of his therapies where the victim had disassociative identity disorder (21:01).
• Who are the most common perpetrators of sexual abuse (24:00).
• Factors preventing men from asking for help (25:33) like Homophobia (26:14), lack of services (26:14), and fear of emasculation where men do not want to admit they were hurt (29:13).
• The need for a program to provide facilities, which is currently non-existent, to house male domestic violence victims (30:48).
• The adverse effects of having boys and men abused who were unable to vent out (35:22).
• How facing the pain, getting help and acknowledging you’re a victim takes courage (39:55)
• Certain traumatic experiences and memories that manifest throughout a person’s life with a specific case illustrating such which negatively affected their sexuality and lives in general during adulthood (42:00).

 

If you want to connect with Don, or want to learn more about BC Male Survivors and their causes, you may check their website at http://bc-malesurvivors.com/, or email Don at [email protected].