They blamed themselves if they enjoyed any part of the relationship, the attention, the touching or the attractive inducements that were sometimes offered. Briggs pointed out that early sexualisation damages boys in many ways. Some male survivors recalled that victimisation made them over-interested and even obsessed with sexual matters and that interest was identified and abused by other predators. As a consequence, once a boy became a victim, he was victimised again and again. Most offenders began offending at puberty or earlier.
Juvenile offenders indicate that something is wrong by their sexual behaviour and drawings.
It is vital that these children are assessed for victimisation and that therapy is made available to them. In the past, professionals and parents have mistaken this behaviour for normal sexual curiosity,' Briggs said. Some only began offending when they reached the same age as their abuser. This statistic is in line with the Perth male survivor phone-in and international studies. Victims did not view the sexual component as particularly harmful but they were badly scarred by the psychological effects when the offenders were their mothers.