Nicky Mahoney

I was employed by Mankind in May 2015 to begin engaging young men between the ages of 16-25 who may have been impacted by sexual abuse. Mankind have been delivering specialist support services to men who have experienced childhood sexual abuse and/or adult sexual assault at any time in their lives. The service offers 1:1 counselling and therapeutic groups to men who have been impacted by this. Research analysis has shown that the average age of our current client is 43 years old, therefore I joined the team to begin focusing on promoting earlier access.

In my previous job role I was working with a number of young people who had experienced or were at risk of sexual exploitation. I was surprised at the difference in professional attitudes and responses when the concerns were about young men who may be experiencing sexual abuse, in comparison to young women. When I explored this further I discovered that there were very few organisation who were dedicated to working with male survivors of sexual abuse.