Research suggests that in the United States one in six boys is directly victimized sexually by age 16. It has also become increasingly apparent in recent years that adult men, like women, are subject to sexual abuse, harassment, and assault.

In order to treat this population, it is crucial that mental health clinicians be aware of the unique challenges male victims face in processing this trauma. This presentation addresses these special challenges. Particular attention will be paid to the themes of male gender socialization, sexual orientation concerns, and myths that interfere with men being open about their histories or even recognizing their sexual betrayal.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this presentation participants will be able to:

1. Describe how male sexual victimization was viewed in the late 20th century vs. today
2. Explain how masculine gender socialization affects boys’ and men’s processing of sexual abuse experiences
3. Identify how concerns about homosexuality affect boys’ and men’s processing of sexual abuse experiences
4. Describe the effect on sexually victimized boys and men of the stereotype that sexually abused boys inevitably grow up to become sexually abusing men.

Richard Gartner, PhD

Richard Gartner, PhD, has been awarded a lifetime achievement award given by the American Psychological Association’s Division of Trauma Psychology (Div 56). He is training and supervising analyst, faculty, and Founding Director of the Sexual Abuse Service at the William Alanson White Psychoanalytic Institute In New York City. A Fellow of the American Psychological Association, he is also a Fellow of APA’s Divisions 39 (Psychoanalysis), 51 (Men and Masculinities), and 56 (Trauma Psychology), and is faculty, consultant, and supervisor at the Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis. A co-founder of MaleSurvivor.org, Richard Gartner, PhD., is a pioneer in treating sexually abused men, and has made presentations about his work at numerous universities, institutes, professional meetings, and hospitals in the USA, and in other countries including Canada, Italy, Iran, Hungary, Japan, and Israel. He has been interviewed and quoted nationally and internationally about male sexual victimization in media including the New York, London, and Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, New York Newsday, Rolling Stone and Playboy Magazine; and has appeared on radio and TV including 20/20, NPR, CNN, CBS, Fox, and MSNBC. The author of Betrayed as Boys (1999), the classic professional text on treating sexually abused men, and Beyond Betrayal: Taking Charge of Your Life after Boyhood Sexual Abuse (2005), written for the general public. Dr. Gartner’s most recent books are: Trauma and Countertrauma, Resilience and Counterresilience (2017); Understanding the Sexual Betrayal of Boys and Men (2018); and Healing Sexually Betrayed Men and Boys (2018).

Richard Gartner, PhD, is the recipient of the William Friedrich Memorial Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Award; the Award of APA’s Trauma Psychology Division for Outstanding Contributions to Practice in Trauma Psychology; and the Director’s Award of the White Institute for contributions to psychoanalytic understanding of trauma. He was also honored by having the Richard Gartner Award for Clinical Contribution established by Male Survivor in honor of his contributions to the treatment of sexually abused men.

Gurmeet S. Kanwal, MD

Gurmeet S. Kanwal, MD, is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and Supervising Psychoanalyst at the William Alanson White Institute. He is a past President of the William Alanson White Psychoanalytic Society and an Editorial Board Member of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis. He is also Staff Psychiatrist at Scarborough Health Network in Toronto and Co-Founder of Mobius Psychological Services, a psychotherapy clinic in Toronto. He is the 2024 recipient of the Cooper Award for seminal contributions to psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, of the Cornell Department of Psychiatry.

Gurmeet S. Kanwal MD is co-editor (with Salman Akhtar) of the books, Bereavement: Personal Experiences and Clinical Reflections (Karnac, 2017) and Intimacy: Clinical, Cultural, Digital and Developmental Perspectives (Routledge, 2019). His papers have been published in Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Neuropsychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Review, Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society, Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Journal of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and Journal of American Psychoanalytic Association.