Male Victims of Abuse: Coming Forward

Patrice Evra opens up about Child Abuse

Former Manchester United defender, Patrice Evra has recently spoken about sexual abuse he suffered as a child in his new autobiography.

Evra was just 13 years old when he was sexually abused by a school teacher when he was staying at his house.

Now aged 40, Patrice has only just opened up about his child abuse, despite being approached by the police when he was 24 after the teacher in question faced allegations of abuse. Evra admits that he was in denial at the time and has since regretted not revealing his experiences.

Evra had only previously confided in his finance, Margaux Alexandra but has since told his mum who encouraged him to report his abuse.

He hopes that talking about his experience will encourage more victims to come forward. In his book, ‘I love this Game’, he writes “If you are a child reading this and you are being abused, you must talk. Don’t carry your shame because there is no shame. Deal with your nightmare by talking about it.”

Why do Men Take Longer to Talk about Abuse?

There can be a lot of reasons why men are reluctant to tell people about abuse. Gender stereotypes make us assume that many men can’t and don’t get abused by women but sadly it happens far more than we realise and can take many different forms.

Victims can experience feelings of shame and embarrassment, and many worry about not being taken seriously or believed at all.

If the abuse happened in childhood, sometimes victims can repress their feelings and memories long into adulthood, leading to many never dealing with their trauma and getting the closure they need.

Of those who do confide in someone close to them, many can still be reluctant to report their abuse to the police despite being encouraged to do so.