We Are Survivors has supported hundreds of boys and men over the years who have had their experiences of being sexually abused recorded on film or in photographs, or technology has been used to assist perpetrators in carrying out the abuse. Whilst technology-assisted abuse and the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is nothing new, there is no disputing that as technology and the availability of tech grows, the use of it in sexual abuse grows too.
More and more boys and men are now stepping forward and asking for help, and support services and organisations are developing new ways to help.
Survivors of CSAM and technology-facilitated sexual abuse often carry with them an extra layer of trauma because of the material that has been created about them during the abuse. An extra layer doesn’t mean ‘worse’ or ‘easier’ than survivors who haven’t been recorded, it also doesn’t mean it’s harder to heal from, it’s just different.
CSAM survivors can often experience a sense of relief that the “abuse is over”, whilst at the same time carry a sense of shame that people may still be witnessing or viewing what happened to them via the recording. Men can carry so many questions in their mind, wondering who has seen it? where its been seen? how many people have seen it? how is it being used? Survivors can feel that the abuse isn’t over, that it continues in a different way and that no one will understand this because they are ‘safe’ now.
However, there are people and organisations that are working incredibly hard to understand and provide the right support. We Are Survivors is proud to work closely with a number of organisations in the UK and across the world in the fight to tackle CSAM and tech-facilitated and assisted abuse. One of our brothers, DJ who is based in the USA, has been an inspiration to us and taught us so much about CSAM and now works with organisations like National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to create change.
Not only has DJ shared his story right at the top of government and taken on the big Social Media giants (see here) but has been so generous in sharing his story with us to ensure the voice of a real CSAM survivor is heard and others can feel connected.
Click here to read DJ’s story.
Another international champion, or we should say champions (plural) is the phenomenal team at Canadian Centre for Child Protection and in particular their Project Arachnid that was written about in a fascinating feature in the New York Times.
Back home here in the UK, our friends at the Marie Collins Foundation provide specialist support to survivors who have experienced technology-assisted sexual abuse. Click on one of the links below to enter their website at the relevant point.
