The UK National Lottery's Big Lottery Fund has awarded a £364,000 grant to Mankind UK to help finance their Male Rape Matters project.
Mankind UK was founded in 2000 to help provide support to male victims (18+) of sexual abuse. The charity offers a range of services including one-to-one counselling sessions and therapeutic groups where victims can meet up and discuss their situation with people who have experienced similar traumatic experiences.
Mankind's CEO, Martyn Sullivan, was delighted when he heard their bid for lottery funding had been successful.
"There is such a limited amount of resources for male survivors in the UK," Sullivan said. "It is vital that charities such as Mankind exist and create awareness of the plight of men that have suffered sexual abuse."
In the year ending September 2013 British police investigated 2,164 sexual assaults on males aged 13 and over, but the actual amount of assaults that take place each year is believed to be much higher.
Statistics gathered by Ministry of Justice suggest 72,000 UK males per year may experience some form of sexual abuse, but it has been estimated that less than 0.1% of such attack are reported to the police.
Big Lottery Fund Spokesperson, Alison Rowe was pleased to see lottery funds being put to such good use.
"By supporting the only male specialist support service in the South East, the grant to Mankind will help provide many men who have experienced sexual violation with the tailored support they need to recover," Rowe said.
