While much of the focus has been put on women when it comes to the issue of sexual assault because of the large number of women experiencing the problem, the small number of men who suffer from sexual abuse suffer in silence ( Walker, Archer, & Davies, 2005) . A large number of men who are sexually abused do not reports the case of sexual assault and those who say are unlikely to receive support services to deal with the consequences of the abuse. Men who are sexually abused are traumatized and suffer in silence because of the stigmatization that they face after reporting the cases. There is still a significant misconception that rape is the only form of sexual assault that a person can face. Statistical data of sexual assault in the U.S. show that one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their life. Considering that rape is not the only form of sexual abuse, it is also evident that one in six men are likely to experience different kinds of sexual violence in their life. Of the few cases of men who are sexually abused, 51.1% of the raped male is raped by their acquaintances while 15.1% are said to be raped by strangers. Out of all the rape cases reported only 9% are male while the rest 91 bare women. According to Masho and Anderson (2009) , male sexual assault is a huge health problem that is said to be unrecognized and underreported. The research carried out in Virginia indicated that there was a 12.9 % prevalence of male sexual assault and 94 % of these cases occur for the first time before the age of 18. The research indicated that men face sexual assault at the age below 18 years and thus, most are unreported because of fear as people close to the charge of these persons. The conclusion of the research by Masho and Anderson indicated that sexual assault in men is a prevalent social and health problem. In addition to the civilian men who experience sexual assault recent reports front the servicemen indicate that a portion of military men experiences sexual assault in the line of duty. 2.2 % of men in active duty are said to have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime while about 1.8% of these have experienced sexual abuse after joining the military. Research indicates that service members who are victims of sexual abuse experience symptoms such as low self-esteem, anxiety, nightmares, depression, and problems with anger control. Only about 15% of the assaulted male military victims of sexual assault report, which is an indication of the underreported situation ( Matthews et al., 2018) . Male sexual can be termed as a silent problem for society. The perpetrators of these assaults can continue with the ill-habit because the victims are unlikely to report these cases in fear of victimization. The perpetrators are opportunist that prey on the physic and the psychological horror of men and capitalize on committing the crime. Sexual assaults among men in relationships, college male students and kids are the commonly reported cases. However, most of the cases remain unreported. Historically, sexual assault against men has never been taken seriously because society has a perception that men are more likely to be the perpetrators than they are likely to be victims. Research on the male sexual assault and the documentation process began in the 1990s. The history of male sexual assault has been hampered by myths surrounding the crime of sexual abuse against men. There is a misconception that men, even those of a younger age, cannot be victims of sexual violence primarily because of masculine gender socialization. There is a myth that males always want sex. The biological makeup of man is that through little sexual stimulation, a man will experience an erection, and it gives the wrong impression to others which can lead to sexual assault. There is also a notion that men are less traumatized by the abuse in comparison to women ( Davies, 2002) . The sexual orientation of a person can result in them being abused but lack the knowledge.
Impact of Sexual Violence on Men
Research indicates that most men who are sexually abused experience the assault at a younger age. These individuals are unlikely to report the crime when it happens and report way later in their life. Fear and ego have been identified as the leading factors of these persons, not to say these cases. The short term impact of sexual violence on men is the trauma that is evident through the isolation of the victims. Abuse such as rape can result in physical health. Injuries that can be sustained in the process of forced sex. Besides, there is a possibility to contract sexually transmitted diseases. A large group lives with trauma as there is fear to report these cases to the police. Male children or men with a different sexual orientation like gay men. The fear of stigmatization for these persons force them not to report. Consequently, these men live with the effects of the assault for a long time. The delayed recovery process can ripple into other areas of life many years after the sexual assault. Thus men who experience sexual abuse are to experience trauma that can result in physical health issues such as chronic health conditions, substance abuse or other self-destructive behaviours. Men who do not acquire the necessary help can also experience mental health problems such as suicidal ideation, Post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and depression ( Wolfe, Francis, & Straatman, 2006) . In worse cases, these people experience social dysfunction problems such as interpersonal violence, failed relationships, and impending career and education objectives. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that is experienced in terrifying events such as rape or other forms of violence. PTSD is characterized by anxiety and additional subjective and the recurring memories of the event that stresses the victim. When unattended to these thoughts can result in depression in the long run. Depression can easily result in suicide or suicidal feelings are the person can result in destructive behaviours such as drug abuse( Wolfe, Francis, & Straatman, 2006) . For those who report sexual abuse cases, some have said that the law enforcement agencies and society face stigmatization. For example, for gay victims who report sexual assault cases, they are likely to face internalized homophobia or culture can interpret the crime as a punishment for their sexuality ( Walker, Archer, & Davies, 2005) .
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Solutions to the Problem
In the recent past, extensive campaigns have been carried out by various groups and agencies in the society mobilizing male victims of sexual assault to speak up and seek help. Male victims who can report and seek advice are assisted both by acquiring medical attention and also psychological counselling to help with the recovery process. Healthcare providers have identified that the best approach to helping sexually abused men is by providing environmental health services and then focusing on the psychological aspect.
Individual-level intervention strategies include personalized counselling and peer support. These individual-level intervention strategies are evidence-based support systems that have been used in the past to treat persons with psychological problems such as trauma, depression or stress. The most common counselling approaches that are used include psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy ( Robarts, 2006, Clarke, & Pearson, 2000) . Cognitive behaviour counselling seeks to understand the traumatic event and to address it from a behavioural perspective. Cognitive behaviour therapy has been applied in group and individualized advice. PTSD resulting from drug use or sexual assault is treated using the CBT approaches ( Clarke & Pearson, 2000) . The group counselling applies the knowledge of sharing the experience for the male sex victims and also sharing a strategy that they are using to stay from stress resulting from the experience in the presence of a counsellor the members of the group. Community-oriented intervention strategies include the development of crisis-oriented services such as advocacy, rape crisis centres and also shelters. Research indicates that in the U.S., The creation of community shelters and rape crisis centres as an everyday activity that is meant to help sexual assault victims. In the shelter and crisis centres, the victims receive help from individual social workers, psychologists, clinics and counselling from qualified individuals. These shelters ensure follow up counselling strategies that are meant to help the men to recover from the traumatic sexual experience. The accommodations consider the cultural background of the victims, and thus, the support teams are made of individuals who have artistic knowledge. The shelters and crisis centres also provide homage to individuals who are traumatized by the situation until they regain stability. In the accommodations, the victims are provided with support, information, and advocacy. Information is essential as it helps the victims understand the various ways of approaching sexual assault when it happens and how they can protect themselves from such criminal activities.
Evaluating Whether the Strategies Are Culturally Sensitive
The intervention mentioned above strategies is culturally sensitive in that the therapists are required to understand the background believe system and the ethnicity of the victims. The community-based approach requires all the crisis centres and shelters for the sexually abused individuals to have experts from different cultural backgrounds resulting in cultural diversification to the team. Belief systems and ethnicity influence treatment and only a team that has cultural knowledge can provide the best care for the victims. Culturally sensitive practise studies have developed ways of how culturally competent therapists are supposed to interact with victims from different backgrounds. Thus when the therapists have cultural knowledge, it helps improve the way they relate with the client. From the above strategies, it is evident that therapists must have the vital cultural understanding to help the patients are it plays a significant role in the process of helping an assaulted person.
Conclusion
Male sexual assault is a big problem for society. Sexual violence against men is unrecognized and underreported for civilians as well as in the military ( Isely, 1998) . When left unattended to men who are sexually abused may experience lifelong consequences that impact the life of a person. Such problems that result from sexual assault include anxiety, nightmares, depression, PTSD. Therefore, there is a need to help male sexual abuse victims. Intervention strategies to help the victims of sexual assault include providing medical care and proper counselling. Medical assistance is to help the patients heal from physical injuries sustained during the abuse. The advice consists of therapies such as CBT that can be implemented using individualized counselling or group counselling. Besides, there are community-based intervention strategies, such as shelters and rape crisis centres. Therapists in these facilities must have the cultural knowledge to help in providing effective intervention strategies.
References
Clarke, S., & Pearson, C. (2000). Personal constructs of male survivors of childhood sexual abuse receiving cognitive analytic therapy. British Journal of Medical Psychology , 73 (2), 169-177.
Davies, M. (2002). Male sexual assault victims: A selective review of the literature and implications for support services. Aggression and violent behaviour , 7 (3), 203-214.
Isely, P. J. (1998). Sexual assault of men: American research supports studies from the U.K. Medicine, science and the law , 38 (1), 74-80.
Masho, S. W., & Anderson, L. (2009). Sexual assault in men: a population-based study of Virginia. Violence and Victims , 24 (1), 98-110.
Matthews, M., Farris, C., Tankard, M., & Dunbar, M. S. (2018). Needs of male sexual assault victims in the U.S. Armed Forces. Rand health quarterly , 8 (2).
Robarts, J. (2006). Music therapy with sexually abused children. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry , 11 (2), 249-269.
Walker, J., Archer, J., & Davies, M. (2005). Effects of rape on men: A descriptive analysis. Archives of sexual behaviour , 34 (1), 69-80.
Wolfe, D. A., Francis, K. J., & Straatman, A. L. (2006). Child abuse in religiously-affiliated institutions: Long-term impact on men's mental health. Child Abuse & Neglect , 30 (2), 205-212.
