The Psychosocial Impact of Sexual Victimization among Filipino Men

Introduction
Background of the Study

Many have heard about the stories of sexual victimization among women, but only few

have heard the side of male victims. Sexual victimization does not happen to women alone, men

are victims too. World Resources Institute (2017) estimates 23% of men and 44% of women

encounter a form of sexual victimization in their lifetime. In the 2012 NISVS report, the global

estimate of sexually victimized men is 47% bisexual men, 40% homosexual men, and 21%

heterosexual men (World Resources Institute, 2017). In the Philippines, recent statistical research

conducted by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) and the United Nations Children’s

Fund (2017) found that Filipino teenage males within the age of 13 to 24 years old experience

sexual violence more than Filipino teenage females (Colcol, 2017). Published Statistics of sexual

victimization, obtained from law enforcement sources, may only represent victims who chose to

report their victimization. This fails to capture the true prevalence of sexual victimization. In

2015, only 21% of women and 5% men confirmed reporting to law enforcement and received

services for being victims of sexual victimization than women causing research on the extent of

sexual victimization against males to be limited (World Health Organization, 2019).

Sexual victimization is referred to as non-consensual acts that can emotionally or

physically violate a person in a sexual manner (Fisher, Daigle, & Cullen, 2010). Previous

studies have concluded that sexually victimized men experience psychological responses that can

affect emotional functioning (Choudhary et al., 2014). These psychological responses consist of

distress, depressed mood, anxiety, shame, embarrassment, sense of sexual stigma and confusion
over sexual identity (Artime, 2014; Tewksbury, 2007; Lisak, 1994). Male victims have impaired

emotional functioning when suicidal ideation begins to develop (Struckman-Johnson, 1992).

Sexual victimization is a traumatic experience because there is evidence in previous research that

it causes trauma and post traumatic stress disorder in both women and men (Morrison et al.,

2007; Sexual Assault of Men and Boys, n.d.). The negative psychological impact resulting from

sexual victimization is accompanied by a negative social impact such as for the male victims to

withdraw themselves from relationships with family and friends, develop problems in intimate

relationships, avoid people or places that remind them of the incident where they were sexually

victimized, Underachievement at school and at work and isolate themselves from society.

(Sexual Assault of Men and Boys, n.d.; Lisak, 1994).

In order to better understand the psychosocial impact of sexual victimization to Filipino

men, in particular, we have addressed three different deficiencies in the existing literature.

Existing studies focus more on women than men. Our pervasive cultural understanding suggests

that perpetrators of sexual violence are nearly always men. The initiative in looking further into

the sexual victimization experiences among male populations has been particularly lacking

(Spataro, Moss, & Wells, 2001). Research in the area of male sexual victimization is estimated

to be approximately 20 years behind the research on female sexual victimization and has been

primarily quantitative (Jamel, Bull, & Sheridan, 2008). Existing studies do not explore the

psychosocial impact of sexual victimization unique to Filipino male victims. We have chosen to

conduct qualitative research on male sexual victimization in order to explore the unique

experiences of male victims, in the Philippine setting, through open-ended questions. Lastly,

existing studies on sexual victimization are done on American culture (Nicholson, 2007). They

do not account for the cultural difference between Western and Eastern cultures. For example, in
a study by Araki and Wiseman (1997), western and individualistic cultures reported more

expressive and verbal than Eastern and collectivistic cultures. The Philippines is a collectivist

society (Hofstede Insights, 2019). This gives us reason to investigate the Filipino cultural

perspective towards men in order to gain insight as to how Filipino male victims would react to

experienced sexual victimization in our society. The goal of this study is to extend the previous

research about sexual victimization since most of the studies are focused on the experiences of

women. In particular, we would like to investigate the psychosocial impact of sexual

victimization against men in the Filipino context.

Scope and Limitations

This study focuses on the Psychosocial impact of sexual victimization among Filipino

Men. Sexual victimization covers sexual harassment, sexual abuse, sexual assault and sexual

violence. The data collection will be done to Filipino men aged 18 and above, specifically

around the area of Cebu City, Philippines through face to face interviews. The scope of this study

is only limited to Filipino men, of the said age range. Victims who do not fall under any of the

specifications mentioned are not within the scope of this research. The researchers considered

working on this study to find out the unique experiences of Filipino male victims of sexual

victimization and the psychosocial impact associated with being a male victim in a Philippine

society.

Significance of the Study

This study focuses on explaining about the psychosocial impact of Sexual Victimization

among Filipino Men. Moreover, the results of the study will be beneficial to the following:
First are the respondents, the respondents will become aware of the importance to speak up for

their rights and knowing that there’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Second are the readers, the readers will become aware that not only women can experience

sexual victimization but also men.

Lastly are the future researchers, the findings of the study will serve as a reference material and a

guide for those who are interested in conducting the same experimental study.

Along with the proper raising of awareness towards sexual victimization among men, our

society would benefit from people eliminating stereotypes concerning sex role norms. This

would an eye-opener to the people that sexual victimization can also happen not only to women

but also to men and the experience is just as traumatizing. The lack of societal concern to male

victims of sexual victimization would decrease and male victims will no longer be embarrassed

or hesitant to seek for help. Another important contribution would be the stricter implementation

of anti- reverse sexism which is designed to address the prejudice or devaluation derived from a

person’s sex or gender. With the proper awareness, this policy would send a strong signal that

reverse sexism to male victims of sexual victimization is unacceptable and should not be

tolerated in our society.

Statement of the Problem

Sexual victimization is a traumatic experience for the Filipino victims and creates a

concern for their physical and psychological welfare. The Filipino society and culture reinforces

the negative objectification of both women and men in the media, but male sexual objectification

is less controversial than female sexual objectification and needs more attention (Genete, 2014).
Filipino male victims, in particular, experience the negative psychosocial effects because of the

different societal sex role norms associated with inhibiting male sensitivity and toxic Filipino

masculinity. Specifically, this study aims to answer the following questions:

1) What are different factors psychosocially impacting Filipino male victims of sexual

victimization?

2) What are the experiences of male victims of sexual victimization in thematic

analysis?

3) How does sexual victimization socially impair and affect social adjustment among

Filipino male victims of sexual victimization?

4) How can this study contribute to the development of a psychosocial intervention

program formulated specifically for aiding the coping of Filipino male victims of

sexual victimization?

The Review of Related Literature

Sexual Victimization

Sexual victimization comprises sexual harassment, sexual abuse, sexual assault or sexual

violence (Fisher, Daigle, & Cullen, 2010). To fully understand sexual victimization, there is a

need to clearly define each component.

Sexual harassment refers to the verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct of an uninvited and

unwelcome sexual nature, particularly by an individual in power towards a subordinate

(Prendergast, 2018). In accordance with the Society for Human Resource Management, Cruz

(2018) states verbal sexual harassment includes innuendos, suggestive comments, jokes of a
sexual nature, sexual propositions or lewd remarks and threats. Nonverbal sexual harassment

includes the distribution, display or discussion of any written or graphic material that are

sexually suggestive; insulting sounds; leering, staring, whistling, and obscene gestures (Cruz,

2018). Physical sexual harassment includes unwelcome, unwanted physical contact, including

touching, tickling, pinching, patting, brushing up against, hugging, cornering, kissing and

fondling (Cruz, 2018). The Republic Act No. 7877 is a landmark special legislation that, for the

first time in Philippine legal history, names, defines and penalizes the crime of sexual harassment

in workplaces and educational or training institutions in the public and private sectors (Ursua,

2001).

Sexual violence refers to taking photos or sex videos of being naked or engaging in

sexual activities, unwanted touch, forced attempted sex, and forced consummated sex (Colcol,

2017). This definition may have been the reason why the prevalence of sexual abuse is higher in

the Philippines than in other countries because there is the inclusion of taking photos or sex

videos which is considered as sexual violence in the Philippines, while other countries did not

consider that as sexual violence. Research conducted by the Council for the Welfare of Children

(CWC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (2017) showed that sexual violence in the

Filipino home is more prevalent in males (12.6 percent) than in females (8.5 percent).

Sexual abuse means forcing or encouraging another individual to engage in sexual

activity, whether or not they are aware. The operations may include penetration (e.g. rape or

buggery) and non-penetration (Springer, 2013). Sullivan (2019) states that reports of sexual

abuse by Roman Catholic Priests to Filipino males ranging from minors to adult males have

recently surfaced. Even the current president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has even

voiced out on his childhood experience on sexual abuse by a priest. The 1997 amendment to the
Philippine Republic Act 8353 expanded the definition of rape to include the act of inserting

one’s penis or foreign object into another to make it possible for men in the Philippines to be

victims with the same legal rights as women and children (Masigan,2019).

Sexual assault refers to a statutory offense that happens when one individual forces or

threats another to participate in any type of sexual act (Maguire, & Okada, 2010). The person

who sexually assaults the other person is called a sexual perpetrator (Robertiello, & Terry, 2007).

There are three different types of sexual perpetrators based on their motivations for committing

the sexual assault. There are homosexual men who assault other homosexual men primarily for

intimacy or sexual gratification and heterosexual men who assault other men as an expression of

social dominance or control (Greathouse et al., 2015). Lastly, there are female perpetrators who

assault men by forcing them to “penetrate” themselves or someone else (Stemple & Meyer,

2017). The dominant paradigm is that men are the perpetrators and women are the victims.

(Stemple & Meyer, 2014). Stemple & Meyer (2014) states that there could be various

explanations for this; female perpetrators are rare; men experience less harm than women and

men always welcome sex by a female perpetrator. However, the prevalence of sexual assault

among men is similar to those experienced by women. (Stemple & Meyer, 2014). These data

were gathered from surveys by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States of America.

These four components of sexual victimization reveal its nature that it is unwanted, done

by force or threat and it is aimed to violate a person in a sexual manner.

Psychosocial Impact
 According to a study conducted by King, Coxell & Mezey (2002), “sexually victimized

adult males are 1.7 times more likely to display psychological disturbances than non-victimized

adult males” (Tewksbury, 2007). The emotional impact of sexual victimization cause male

victims to develop feelings of anger, hostility, and express attitudes of denial which in turn create

destructive and long-term consequences such as a higher risk of depressed mood, lowered self-

esteem, suicidal ideation, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and relationship complications

(Struckman-Johnson, 1992) Self-harm is two times more likely to be seen in victimized men

than in non-victimized men (Tewksbury, 2007). The clinically based findings of a number of

clinicians who have worked with male survivors have been supported by an empirically based,

thematic content analysis of autobiographical interviews with sexually abused men (Dimock,

1988; Hunter, 1990; Lew, 1988; Myers, 1989). The assessment recognized prominent effects

such as anger, fear, helplessness, loss, guilt, shame, incapacity to legitimize their abuse

experience, adverse schemes about self and individuals, and self-blame. There were prevalent

issues on gender and sexuality (homosexuality issues, masculinity issues and sexuality

problems), and interpersonal difficulties evident (betrayal, isolation and alienation, and negative

peer relationships among children).

Psychosocial stressors like inadequate social support are theorized to affect health

adversely in a number of ways (Adler, 2008). First, emotional distress and mental illness can

themselves be the source of suffering, diminished health, and poorer functioning through their

symptoms and their adverse effects on role performance. Second, psychosocial problems can

adversely affect patients’ abilities to cope with and manage their illness by limiting their ability

to access and receive appropriate mental health care resources (Yarcheski et al., 2004; Kroenke

et al., 2006). Emotional support may help people cope more effectively with the obstacles they
encounter and with their own emotional response to challenges they may be facing (Helgeson

and Cohen, 1996:135). Epidemiological studies across a variety of illnesses have found that

when individuals have low levels of social support, they experience worse outcomes, including

higher mortality rates (IOM, 2001). There is strong evidence that the perception of the

availability of social support protects individuals under stress from psychological distress,

anxiety, and depression (Wills and Fegan, 2001; Cohen, 2004).

Most studies on sexual victimization are done on American culture and does not identify

the unique psychosocial impact to Filipino male victims (Nicholson, 2007). Filipino male

victims’ experiences differ to that of American male victims because of the different culture and

setting. The unique and vexing Filipino culture and its societal norms is what sets Filipinos apart

from other nationalities (Feliciano, 1998). Due to this, we have decided to examine the Filipino

cultural perspective towards men in general.

Filipino Cultural Perspective Toward Men

Filipino men defined in the cultural perspective as powerful, proud, brave, courageous,

daring, attracted to females, rational, and capable of fulfilling their duties (Acuna & Naui, et al.,

1985). Filipino Men are expected to manifest physical and emotional strength, such as being able

to endure pain, be aggressive, defend their honor, and assert themselves through persuasive

words (Jimenez, 1983; Margold, 1995).

Machismo can be described as the assumption that males are superior to females. (Rizal

1997). It means men are expected to be strong, to be family providers, to uphold rigid gender

roles, and to have sexist attitudes towards women. Under Spanish colonial rule, Machismo
started when it was normal for Philippine women to be raped and beaten by Spanish friars and

government (Rizal 1997). Machismo may still be visible in male attitudes in contemporary times,

but may not necessarily reflect women's inferiority. For instance, women in the Philippines today

are encouraged to be leaders and pursue academic and career opportunities as well as men

(Nadal, 2004). Filipino men, however, may still maintain machismo gender roles and

expectations, insisting on being macho, hypermasculine, and prideful in seeking help or

assistance.Privilege and masculinity represent the concept of machismo (Rojas-Aleta, Silva, &

Eleazar, 1977). Men were urged to demonstrate and show their power and masculinity, in such a

way that being a man has stereotypically been linked with surpassing problems, losing one’s

virginity, and having a “healthy” libido (De Castro, 1995).

The stereotypical Filipino man is also regarded to be emotionally inaccessible (as

emotional and vulnerable is to be effeminate), highly autonomous (as he is threatened by

dependence) and unable to form close emotional connections with other males (for fear of being

suspected of being homosexual) (Aguiling-Dalisay et al., 2000). Filipino men have also been

defined as being overly critical and egocentric (Acuna & Naui, 1985).

Filipino men do not want to be branded as weak (Aguiling-Dalisay et al., 2000). Pino &

Meier (1999) investigated the sex differences in reaction to sexual harassment were explored and

concluded that males feel that their pride and masculinity becomes threatened if ever they are to

confess being a victim of sexual harassment. Societal sex-role norms expect men to be strong,

dominant, and sexually driven (Dudte, 2008; Klomsten, Marsh, & Skaalvik, 2005). These

expectations cause sexual harassment acts against men, especially without proof of injury, to go

unreported due to the shame of being viewed as weak and sensitive-minded individuals. In

addition to these findings, other studies indicate that men are more likely to victim-blame fellow
males for allowing themselves to be victims than females, pointing to the adoption of the

conventional belief that men should be capable of defending themselves (Davies & McCartney,

2003; Ford, Liwag-McLamb, & Foley, 1998). Klee (2018) suggests that victim-blaming on men

are due to the toxic assumptions of male invulnerability to sexual victimization. The notion that

tall and muscular men are not capable of feeling instantly diminished or humiliated by sex

predators is proof that society undervalues inner beings in the name of destructive gender norms.

Sexually victimized men are now perceived as failures and are not "men" since the expectation

of society about them is very high in that they should be able to fend off an attack themselves

and even protect female victims from attacks whenever the opportunity rises (Coxell & King,

2010).

Cultural Difference in Emotional Expression

It is evident in the existing studies of sexual victimization that American male victims did

not inhibit their emotion. In Dimock’s study (1988) assessing male victims of sexual abuse, male

victims voiced out deep emotions of worthlessness, evil, ugliness, emptiness, and inferiority

during the assessment. It is possible that Filipino male victims cannot express their emotions as

explicitly as the male victims in the western culture because of cultural differences in emotional

expression.

The norms governing emotional expressions are influenced by one's culture (Ekman &

Friesen, 1969). People control their emotional expressions in order to act appropriate in

accordance with cultural norms (Frijda, 1986). According to Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey

(1988a), emotional independence is expected in individualistic cultures whereas emotional

found that nonvocal reactions such as facial expression and body langauge and verbalization of

emotion is more common to individualistic cultures. Verbal communication is stressed or

explicit in individualistic cultures and is not emphasized or indirect in collectivistic cultures

(Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey, 1988b). In Friesen's (1972) study to test the emotional

expressions, using American and Asian subjects, the display of negative emotion is a violation of

social rules in the collectivistic orientation of Asians. The Asian subjects masked negative

emotional expressions with smiles more than the American subjects. Matsumoto, Kudoh,

Scherer, and Wallbott (1988) examined the cultural differences in reactive and expressive

aspects of emotion and found that American subjects generally reported more expressive and

verbal reactions to the emotions than the Asian subjects.

The inhibition of emotion in the collectivistic culture of the Philippines may be one of the

reasons why there is hesitancy of Filipino male victims to report their experience to the police.

There is lacking information of the national statistics of sexual victimization to men in the

Philippines. The true prevalence of Filipino male victims cannot be assessed if they continue to

not speak up (World Health Organization, 2019).

Raising Awareness on Sexual Victimization

A platform to speak up for sexual victimization has recently gained attention in the

United States called the #MeToo movement. It was founded in 2006 by Tarana Burke and is a

viral support system aimed at advocating for victims of sexual violence (Bradley, 2008).

Associated Press (2018) notes that society views male victims as just adjuncts to the #MeToo
movement and that they should not receive the comparable level of public empathy and

understanding as women.

A similar campaign to the #MeToo Movement has recently been formed in the

Philippines called “Respeto Naman” founded by the United Nations Women and NGOs Spark

and Empower (Masigan,2019). The purpose of the “Respeto Naman” campaign is to raise

awareness on the widespread issue of sexual victimization to women, empower victims with

legal options, pressure the legislature to provide more stringent laws for sexual crimes, and decry

the misogynistic attitude of most judges and law enforcers toward victims (Masigan,2019).

These campaigns are primarily for the benefit of women and do not give attention to male

victims. In order to educate the Filipino people on the psychosocial impact sexual victimization

has on male victims, we have conducted this study to tap into the real experiences of male

victims and hopefully give inspiration to a campaign dedicated to their empowerment.