http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/the-harm-when-women-prey-on-boys/2006/03/17/1142582526948.html?page=fullpage
If women are treated more leniently, it may be that there is a pervasive view that no real harm is done. But there is growing evidence that not only are young male victims of female sexual abuse severely affected, but that they are also at higher risk of going on to become abusers themselves.
"When you look at these men who have been abused by females, and compare them to the men abused by males, in terms of psychological function, they were doing as badly as the men abused by males," says Dr Patrick O'Leary, a senior lecturer in social work at the University of South Australia.
O'Leary, who conducted Australia's biggest study of male victims of sex abuse, says that having been sexually abused by a woman was for men a higher risk factor towards becoming a sexual offender than being abused by another male.
A study sponsored by the Public Health Agency of Canada, titled The Invisible Boy, made similar findings. Citing four research papers, the report said, "there is an alarmingly high rate of sexual abuse by females in the backgrounds of rapists, sex offenders and sexually aggressive men (and) male adolescent sex offenders abused by 'females only' chose female victims almost exclusively".
O'Leary says that while sexual abuse of boys and young men has been acknowledged over the past 15 years, it has normally been in the context of institutions such as churches or youth groups. "When we think of males being abused, we mostly think of the abuser being male pedophiles. Certainly some males may not have a consciousness that what's happened is wrong or abuse โฆ some of the effects really can be seen in subsequent relationships. I remember some men saying they had difficulty relating to women of any age. It taught them to sexualise all relationships with women."
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