Male survivors often try to forget or bury their experiences of abuse and use a range of strategies to block out the memories and feelings. These can look like drug and alcohol use, gambling, workaholism, and sex addictions… but frequently, they don't make the link between what happened to them as children or young guys, and their current ways of managing their life.

The tactics that abusers use mean that survivors often carry heavy legacies, like being made to feel complicit and responsible for aspects of the abuse, and being forced to keep the abuse secret in order to protect others. This often results in feelings of powerlessness, anger, shame and self-blame.

Managing these burdens requires - in the words of psychologists Sophie Reid and Jace Cannon Brookes - “ingenious survival”. The survivors in this episode share some of their survival strategies.

Featuring (in order of appearance): Shane Greentree (SAMSN), Adam S, Matthew O, Ryan C, Lindsay G, Clinical Psychologists Jace Cannon-Brooks & Sophie Reid (Birchtree Centre), Phillip S, Jarad G, Janet, Les S, Martin W, Craig Hughes-Cashmore (SAMSN, MD/CEO), Rae Boxwell (SAMSN, Counsellor), Brett Pickard (SAMSN, Eight-week Support Group facilitator), Pete R.

Resources for survivors: 

https://www.samsn.org.au/recovery-and-healing/resources-for-survivors/

Thanks to: 

All our wonderful interviewees!
Rob Carlton and Felicity Blake
Jace Cannon-Brooks & Sophie Reid, Birchtree Centre
Peter Bolam
And The National Redress Scheme

Music: Licensed via Audiio.com 

• SHANE - Sebastian Kauderer: Stay With Me (Instrumental)
• ADAM, MATTHEW, RYAN - Matthew Wright: Theme
• JANET - Richard Smithson: Sometimes I Don't Know Who I Am
• MARTIN - The Future Reality: Iridescent
• MARTIN - Marshall Usinger: Everything We Hoped For
• AD / RIC HERBERT - Sebastian Kauderer: Two Big Reasons
• LINDSAY, ADAM, LES, RYAN, PHIL (CLOSING) - Kevin Bean: Willow
• CLOSING CREDITS - Seth Öphengon: A Safe Place (Instrumental)