We would like to point out in advance: It is not fundamentally bad to keep your own experiences of violence to yourself. For many of those affected, this is part of their personal processing. Each survivor should decide for himself if and when he feels ready to confide in someone.
However, if you are affected yourself, there are really good reasons to talk to a trusted person about what happened to you and also to seek professional support. It is not relevant that you tell everything that is bothering you right from the start. Often, the beginning of professional counselling or therapy is about stabilization and coping with everyday problems. In the long run, however, it can be a very important step for your own coping to speak about your experiences of violence to someone. The following aspects can be positively related to this:
- The perception that another person takes your story and yourself seriously
- The feeling of no longer having to carry everything all alone
- To experience your own strength: You survived it, and now you even manage to speak about it
- To realize that you are not alone in your experiences: other men have experienced violence in a similar way
- To receive support in learning to deal with your emotions
- Learning to build a trusting relationship with another person again
- Discovering personal resources
Contact options for male survivors
It is important to us that survivors who want to talk about their experience of violence or share their experiences with others are given the opportunity to do so. If you are a survivor yourself and you would like to break the silence, you will find information here on how this can be done.
Psychosocial counselling
In Germany, there are now a number of institutions where refugees can receive psychosocial support and which are well versed in the topic of sexualized violence. In the section "Cooperation partners", there is a list of possible contacts. These are institutions that we are sure are familiar with the topic. If one of these facilities is close to where you live, you can go there. Unfortunately, the psychosocial and medical support for refugees in Germany is still inadequate in many places, and you often have to wait some time until a place becomes available. The sooner you register there, the sooner you will get in.
Contact us
We offer you the opportunity to contact us directly and tell us about your experience. This is possible at any time via e-mail – in this case we will try to respond to your message within 7 days. (Messages in German, English or Arabic will be answered within 7 days, for other languages it may take a little longer). Or you can contact us via the live chat, which will be manned once a week for one hour (appointment to follow). Here, communication is only possible in German and English for the time being. Feel free to use this option, as well to tell us about your experiences or ask us your questions – we will try to answer them or refer you to the appropriate place. Please note that we cannot offer counselling or therapy.
Interview
There is also the possibility to do an interview with us on the topic of sexualised violence against men. If you are affected yourself and would like to tell someone about your experiences, you can contact us. We will then give you additional information and try to find an appointment for an interview in a timely manner. Please note that we cannot offer counselling or therapy afterwards.
Questionnaire study
In a current study, we want to learn more about the topic of "Sexualised violence against men in the context of war and displacement". For this purpose, we have designed a questionnaire that you can fill out as a person affected. You can find more information in the "Study" section.