New Book: The Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Boys and Men: Creating an Approach for Neglected Victims

New Book Addresses the Sexual Abuse of Boys and Men

In June 2023, Phil Mitchell published his first book ‘The Sexual Abuse of Boys and Men, Creating an Approach for Neglected Victims’. Phil has been working with abused boys and men for over 19 years and has come to realise the barriers in adversities and disadvantages disproportionately and in some cases uniquely, facing male victims.

“I wrote this book for a number of reason,” says Phil, “In addition to me wanting to feel a sense of achievement for starting and finishing a process that I found rather difficult at times, I also wanted to create a resource that would really make practitioners and perhaps even members of the public think about how male victims are treated. Since working with my first client as a volunteer in 2004 to seeing my most recent male victim, I have been flooded with a wealth of experience proving to me that boys and men who are abused are less likely to be identified, less likely to recognise abuse, less likely to disclose, less likely to engage with support and less likely to be take seriously. That’s why I wanted to write this book; to address these issues and more.”

Rather than demonising masculinity and labelling it as ‘toxic’ – something sadly done by many other articles and publications, Phil’s book views masculinity as a useful resource that can utilised to help boys and men deal with and overcome abuse. Drawing on recent psychology, Phil highlights how archetypal elements of masculinity can be used to help male victims reduce guilt and anxiety and increase mood confidence. The psychological concept of Gamma Bias is also highlighted in relation to how perceptions of gender affect assessment of CSE risk in boys, and Phil also explores how the tole of both nurture and nature can influence how male victims respond to and recognise abuse. 

An online book launch where Phil will be discussing his book and answering questions will take place via Zoom video on 10^th January 2024 6pm – 7pm. Click here for details.

About Phil-

Phil is a senior accredited counsellor and psychotherapist specialising in working with boys and men who have experienced recent and/or historic sexual abuse. Since 2004 Phil has worked therapeutically with males affected by rape, sexual abuse, sexual violence and sexual exploitation. Phil experienced sexual exploitation as a child, and rape as a young adult. He is an experienced public speaker and has trained thousands of professionals across the country on male sexual abuse/exploitation addressing how masculinity can play a part and help boys and men deal with abuse. Between 2009 and 2018 Phil was the Project Coordinator of a male only child sexual exploitation (CSE) service. Here, Phil was instrumental in the development of nationally recognised male CSE resources and in the support provided to a sexually exploited boy highlighted in Jack CSE serious case review. Phil also managed the national male CSE development project ‘Excellence for Boys’ which saw male referrals to 20 CSE services increase from 91 to 249. Phil has appeared on TV and in the media on numerous occasions highlighting the abuse of boys and men, and has contributed to various research and publications addressing male CSE. Phil is also a qualified supervisor and supervises trainee and qualified practitioners working with vulnerable children and adults. Phil is passionate about ensuring boys and men at risk of, or who have experienced abuse are appropriately identified and supported in a way that promotes gender equality and combats misandry and gender biased practice, ensuring services are appropriately accessible to and inclusive of males. Phil released his first book addressing the sexual abuse of boys and men in 2023. Further details can be found at the website: www.counsellingwithphil.co.uk