Men’s sexual abuse charity sees staggering 80% increase in calls after baby reindeer’s release

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A men’s sexual abuse charity has seen a staggering 80 percent increase in first-time callers since the release of Baby Reindeer.

Manchester-based charity We Are Survivors provides support for men, including trans and non-binary people, who are victims of sexual abuse, rape and sexual exploitation.

The organization said it has been “inundated” with new news since the release of the hit Netflix series – about a comedian who is relentlessly harassed and stalked by a woman for more than four years and comes to terms with sexual abuse “were recommendations.

In the first two weeks of the show’s release, they saw an 80 percent increase in first-time callers asking for support.

Notably, 53 percent of respondents cited Baby Reindeer as a reason for their support. The charity also saw a 40 per cent increase in referrals from young people aged 26 to 35.

The charity’s CEO and founder Duncan Craig OBE said that while they had worked with screenwriters to bring stories of male sexual abuse to the screen in films such as Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street, he said: “I have never seen such a reaction” for baby reindeer.

“In the past, some people might read newspaper interviews and maybe pick up the phone a month later,” he told The Independent. “But with Baby Reindeer, it was absolutely instantaneous. I have never seen such a reaction in the 15 years I have been working in this field.”

He added: “I always ask people what they call today and many have referred to Baby Reindeer.”

“We’ve had people watching the show and getting caught up in the media circus surrounding the show on social media, and that gave them the opportunity to think, ‘If everyone’s talking about it, then I can do it too’. “

In addition to the increased referrals, the charity recorded 492 new visitors to its website in the first two weeks – most of which came from a link provided by Netflix.

Mr Craig said that not only did it allow survivors to raise their voices for support for the first time, but it also helped people already receiving support to process their experiences.

He said: “Therapists have had examples of people literally bringing lines from the show that really resonated with them on back pages and pieces of paper and saying, ‘That’s what I wanted to say all along’.”

The biographical series, written by and starring comedian Richard Gadd, who is also a We Are Survivors ambassador, became a word-of-mouth sensation and shot to the top of the streaming service’s most-watched charts when it aired on April 11 with very little advertising. April.

Mr Craig said it was the “honesty” of Mr Gadd’s character, highlighting the “gray areas” of abuse, that had been particularly helpful for male survivors.

Referring specifically to the time when Mr Gadd’s character returned to his abuser’s home, he said: “Survivors often have such self-blame.” Personally, I know that for so many years I kept going back to the person who harmed me in some way as an adult. Think, why didn’t you just stop going back? It’s about victim blaming.

“Maybe everyone wants stories that are black and white or good and evil, but in reality they are gray and confusing. This is the reality of being a survivor.”

A survivor himself of sexual assault and exploitation aged 11 to 22, Mr Craig says the show provides an important cultural reference for male victims that he did not have.

“It wasn’t until I was 29 that I opened my mouth about my early abuse and began to define it,” he said. “I really think if I hadn’t trained to be a therapist, I would still be silent right now.

“It never occurred to me that (the abuse) was wrong. I always knew I didn’t like it, but it didn’t occur to me that it fell into the category of abuse.

“Part of the reason I didn’t know it wasn’t OK was because where was my baby reindeer? What cultural reference did I have to say that men and boys can be victims of sexual abuse?”

If you are a male survivor of sexual abuse and would like support, contact WWe are survivors on their 24/7 hotline 0808 500 2222 or E-Mail [email protected].