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Yes, Sexual Abuse of Black Boys Is a Problem — and We Need To Pay Attention
We’re just coming to terms with talking about sexual abuse at all. But our sons have been missing from the conversation — and the outrage.
Trigger warning: This story features accounts of child sexual abuse and rape.
When I asked my writer’s group for advice on how to research child sexual abuse in the Black community, I wasn’t expecting personal anecdotes. Yet, that’s what Ron* gave us. He’d been sexually assaulted at various points throughout his life, he said — by a teacher, an aunt, and even his own mother.
In her 2004 book No Secrets, No Lies: How Black Families Can Heal from Sexual Abuse, journalist and mental health counselor Robin D. Stone writes that one out of every six men report having been sexually abused as children. That number becomes even more frightening when you consider the fact that sexual assault crimes are vastly underreported.
As a society, we’re still learning how to discuss any kind of sexual assault — and conversations around the sexual abuse of Black boys are far, far rarer. Yet, these conversations need to happen, both for the survivors and for the men and women who love them.
