Male sexual abuse charity sees shocking 80% increase in calls following release of baby reindeer

A charity dedicated to combating male sexual abuse 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 to men who have survived sexual abuse, rape and sexual exploitation, including trans and non-binary people.

The organization said it has been “inundated” with new leads since the release of the hit Netflix series – which follows a comedian who is relentlessly harassed and stalked by a woman for over four years and finally comes to terms with the sexual abuse.

In the first two weeks after the show’s release, the number of first-time callers requesting support increased by 80 percent.

Notably, 53 percent of those referred cited Baby Reindeer as the reason for their support. The charity also saw a 40 percent 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 before, including in Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street, he had “never experienced a response” like he saw with Baby Reindeer.

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

He added: “I always ask people what they called today and many have mentioned Baby Reindeer.

“We had people watch the show and get caught up in the media circus on social media. It helped them think, ‘If everyone is talking about it, I can do it too.'”

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

Mr Craig said that not only had it enabled survivors to speak out and ask for support for the first time, but it had also helped people already receiving support to process their experiences.

He said: “Therapists know of examples where people have literally brought lines from the show that really touched them, on backs and scraps of paper, and said, ‘This is what I’ve been trying to say all along.'”

The biographical series, written and starring comedian Richard Gadd, who is also an ambassador for “We Are Survivors,” became a word-of-mouth sensation and shot to the top of the streaming service’s most-watched show charts after its broadcast on April 11, despite barely any advertising.

Mr Craig said it was the “honesty” of Mr Gadd’s character that highlighted the “grey areas” of abuse, which was particularly helpful for male survivors.

Referring specifically to the time when Mr Gadd’s character returned to his abuser’s house, he said: “Survivors often blame themselves like that. I know from my own experience that for so many years I kept going back to the person who had harmed me in some way. As an adult you wonder why I didn’t just stop going back to them? That’s victim blaming.

“Maybe everyone wants stories that are black and white or good and evil, but in reality everything is grey and confusing. That’s the reality of a survivor.”

Mr Craig was himself a victim of sexual harassment and exploitation between the ages of 11 and 22 and says the show provides an important cultural reference point for male victims who were not his own victims.

“I didn’t speak up until I was 29 and started describing my early abuse,” he said. “I really believe that if I hadn’t trained as a therapist, I would still be silent today.”

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

“One reason I didn’t know it was wrong was because my baby reindeer wasn’t there. What cultural reference did I have when I said that men and boys can be victims of sexual abuse?”

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