UK's first combined TV/radio/billboard and bus advertising campaign aimed at male survivors of sexual violence across West Yorkshire

On Monday 14^th November to highlight West Yorkshire male sexual violence survivors support needs. Survivors West Yorkshire will launch a coordinated TV/Radio campaign which will link to bus and billboard advertising for most of November. The aim being to increase awareness of its Bens Place project which currently offers male survivors online video counseling and ISVA advocacy-advice services. Bens Place pioneered video counselling for male survivors in 2016.

Survivors West Yorkshire (SWY) was set up in 2000 (become a CIO in 2016) with the aim ofproviding support for male victims of CSA/Rape. We provide counselling, ISVA and self- help support. Over the past 23 years, SWY has delivered a virtual signposting service via email and phone, providing support to an average of 150 male survivors each year. Since 2016 we have developed and rolled out a pioneering online video counselling service, which has proven to work effectively for male survivors across West Yorkshire from all communities. This is now enhanced with extra capacity via our ISVA worker who delivers advocacy and specialist advice.

Males victims struggle to be seen as victims by society. They can feel culturally vanished and this creates a recovery landscape of inequality and exclusion which ignores their victim diversity (Lewis, H., Kiemle, G., Lowe, M., & Balfour, R. (2022) Men’s health across the lifespan: Posttraumatic growth and gender role in male survivors of child sexual abuse. International Journal of Men’s Social and Community Health, 5, 1, 50–65). This was also recently highlighted by the former Victims Commissioner for England and Wales (https://tinyurl.com/mw3zz62w). The feedback from our clients supports they have often experienced many barriers in obtaining support before finding Bens Place. Support which they report has positively changed their lives.

Bens Place’s objective is to reinforce reductions in serious MH consequences PTS’D’, depression, anxiety, and substance use - which have been associated with victims of sexual assaults (Duncan, Saunders, Kilpatrick, & Resnick 1996). Research has found that men who have experienced CSA report higher levels of all health harming behaviours than women who have been exposed to similar experiences. The urgent need to address this through holistic specialist male sexual violence survivor support including counselling - advocacy - self-help and informed signpost is widely recognised (eg: Walfield, SM, 2021.'“Men Cannot Be Raped”: Correlates of Male Rape Myth Acceptance'. Journal of Interpersonal Violence).

Robert Balfour, Founder and CEO of Survivors West Yorkshire & Ben's Place, said:

“Our independently evaluated client outcomes - evidence clients who have engaged with the counselling programs show 100% better coping strategies 67% report increased confidence with 90% evidencing increased ability to meet their potential. 81% show an overall decrease in depression with 100% showing a reduction in post trauma stressissues. Male survivors can be found everywhere around you. We just don’t see them culturally. As they are often trapped in silence and vanished from discussions. As we remember those who gave their lives during wars that protected our communities - many who fell would have been survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Male Survivors can be anybody you know, and they deserve professional support services which are designed for and by them.”