Male Rape Victims Speak Out for the Boys

A new program launched in the fall of 2005 is making some progress in educating people about the reality that male sexual abuse is just as common as abuse against females:

Embraced by both the education and correctional services departments, a campaign encouraging male sexual abuse victims to speak out has made significant inroads since its launch three months ago.

Established in October by Sara Jones, For the Boys has so far set up a network with 100 prisons, schools and dozens of social workers across the country.

Her book Return to Innocence has been made the centrepiece of the campaign and thousands of copies have been distributed for free.

This week the department of education awarded it a five-star rating, allowing schools to freely download the book. According to Jones, the campaign has been effective.

"In one incident an 18-year-old man in Johannesburg revealed to us that his grandfather abused him every night. He is now in a safehouse.