The Need
And what we know works
Male sexual abuse is one of the most underreported forms of harm in Canada. The men who carry it often do so in silence for decades. The evidence on what helps them heal is clear, and it points in a direction most institutions are not built to go.
This page brings both together. The scope of the problem, and what the research says survivors actually need.
The scope of the problem
1 in 6 Canadian men experience sexual abuse before age 18.
This is a widely cited figure and likely conservative. Non-contact abuse and underreporting mean the real number is higher. Source: BC Male Survivors
Only 5 to 6 percent of incidents are ever reported to police.
The vast majority of sexual assaults never enter the justice system. Source: Sexual Assault Statistics Canada
60 percent of male survivors say the abuse began between the ages of 2 and 12.
Most male survivors carry this from childhood. Source: National Library of Medicine
Police-reported sexual assaults on men have grown 36 percent since 2017.
More men are coming forward. The need for support is growing with them. Source: Statistics Canada
About 9 percent of men report a sexual assault since age 15.
In self-report surveys, 33 percent of women and 8 to 9 percent of men say they have been sexually assaulted since age 15. Source: Government of Canada
Men make up about 12 percent of police-reported sexual assault victims.
A 2013 Justice Canada review put the number at roughly 12 percent. Source: Department of Justice Canada
Justice outcomes are uneven.
Cases involving a known perpetrator have lower charge rates. Many charges do not lead to a trial or a guilty verdict. Source: Statistics Canada
What the evidence says helps
The research on trauma recovery is clear on what survivors need, and supports our approach to survivor support.
Trauma and violence informed care is foundational.
The Public Health Agency of Canada defines this as recognizing how trauma affects people’s lives, building safe environments, offering choice, working in collaboration, and focusing on resilience. This is the baseline for any organization working with survivors. Source: Government of Canada
This is how RSI operates. Safety and choice are not features of our work. They are the ground it stands on.
Trauma-informed care principles reduce the risk of retraumatization.
Recognized principles include safety, trust, choice, collaboration, strengths-based practice, and cultural and historical sensitivity.Source: Canadian Medical Association
This is why RSI walks with survivors through legal proceedings. Depositions and settlements can retraumatize a person as much as the original harm. Our peer supporters stand in that gap.
PTSD treatment must be tailored.
Canada’s Federal Framework on PTSD emphasizes that treatment must consider sex and gender differences, social determinants, and trauma-informed design. Source: Government of Canada
Male survivors of clergy abuse carry a specific weight. Shame, silence, loss of faith, and years of self-medication. RSI was built for that specific weight.
Strengths-based, culturally safe healing works.
Effective healing integrates the survivor’s strengths, gives them choice and agency, and respects cultural, gender, and identity differences. Source: Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health
Peer support that comes from lived experience is uniquely powerful.
Why this matters for RSI
The research on peer support in trauma recovery is consistent. Survivors respond to other survivors in ways they do not respond to anyone else. Shared experience creates the trust that healing requires.
The numbers say the problem is bigger than institutions have been willing to see. The evidence says the response has to be trauma-informed, choice-driven, strengths-based, and grounded in lived experience.
RSI was built to be all of those things. Not because we set out to check boxes on a research framework, but because Bob McCabe found his way to recovery through those exact principles, and built RSI to make sure others could find their way too.