The public is generally aware of how women can be victims of power-based crimes.
During National Victims of Crime Awareness Week (April 21-27), people are now being made aware that males can be victims of bullying, sexual abuse, and physical abuse as well.
Recently, more and more men have stepped forward to do what they can to right the wrongs of the power-based crimes they have suffered on team sports, in youth organizations, in residential schools, in church affiliated facilities, and in families, said Celia Laval, a counsellor with the North Island Survivors’ Healing Society (NISHS).
Children impacted by these crimes can have some hard things to overcome in adult years. The impact of abuse on male victims can affect them years later in their roles as fathers, as intimate partners, and as role models.
For example, sometimes well-meaning fathers can find themselves being over protective of their own children. Some people don’t feel that they are worthy, so they do not expect much of themselves in relationship to others. Other survivors have their nervous systems so affected by trauma that they have a hard time focusing on anything or connecting with others at all. The effects of being a victim of a crime can be far-reaching.
We all want to move on from difficult experiences. But in some cases, a difficult experience can exceed our capacity to process and move on, no matter how much we want to.
Campbell River has one of only a few non-profit agencies in B.C. that offers subsidized professional counselling for men and women that have been affected by traumatic experiences, including crimes.
For more information or to make an appointment for individual counselling, men or women can contact the North Island Survivors’ Healing Society at 250-287-3325.