Unspoken Wounds: A Narrative Review of Male Victims of Sexual Abuse in Public Places and Their Mental Health Outcomes Among School Students

V. G. Bhuvaneswar; A. Seethalakshmy

doi:10.63363/aijfr.2025.v06i06.2434

Unspoken Wounds: A Narrative Review of Male Victims of Sexual Abuse in Public Places and Their Mental Health Outcomes Among School Students

Author(s)	Mr. V. G. Bhuvaneswar, Dr. A. Seethalakshmy
Country	India
Abstract	Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) among boys remains a profoundly overlooked trauma, particularly within sociocultural contexts that discourage emotional vulnerability and associate masculinity with stoicism and self-reliance. These expectations often silence male survivors and leave their psychological needs unaddressed. Importantly, such abuse frequently occurs not in private or hidden settings but in everyday public or school-related spaces where supervision is inconsistent and risks go unnoticed. When abuse takes place in restrooms, corridors, playgrounds, transport routes, neighbourhood areas, or other common environments, the child is forced to return repeatedly to the site of the trauma, intensifying fear-conditioned responses, shame, hypervigilance, avoidance, and emotional dysregulation. This narrative review synthesises evidence on the prevalence, contextual patterns, and psychological outcomes of public-place sexual abuse among male students aged 13–18 years. The findings indicate a heightened vulnerability to post-traumatic stress symptoms, intrusive memories, anxiety, depression, behavioural disturbances, and impaired emotional regulation. These effects are compounded by gendered norms that discourage boys from disclosing distress, often resulting in internalised shame and prolonged psychological suffering. The review underscores the urgent need for gender-inclusive child protection frameworks, enhanced monitoring of high-risk school and community spaces, and trauma-informed mental-health interventions tailored to boys’ developmental and cultural realities. By bringing visibility to these overlooked experiences, the review aims to illuminate these unspoken wounds and support the development of safer, more responsive educational and societal systems.
Keywords	male child sexual abuse, public spaces, trauma, adolescent mental health, PTSD, school safety, masculinity norms
Field	Sociology > Philosophy / Psychology / Religion
Published In	Volume 6, Issue 6, November-December 2025
Published On	2025-12-08
DOI	https://doi.org/10.63363/aijfr.2025.v06i06.2434
Short DOI	https://doi.org/hbdwfq

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Unspoken Wounds: A Narrative Review of Male Victims of Sexual Abuse in Public Places and Their Mental Health Outcomes Among School Students

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