“Sexual Violence Happens to Us Too”: A Thematic Analysis of Israeli Men’s Online Disclosures of Sexual Victimization

Sexual victimization (SV) of both men and women is a global issue. However, the traditional focus on women victims has led to underreporting and limited research on SV disclosure among men. Technological advances and social media have created new spaces for SV victims to disclose their stories.Given the lack of research on online disclosure of men’s SV, this study examines the experiences of men SV victims, focusing on the role of masculinity norms. We conducted a thematic analysis of 13 in-depth interviews with Israeli men who experienced various forms of SV and disclosed their stories online. Online disclosure involved two main phases: the decision-making process and implications for recovery. The decision-making process indicated that this process is primarily shaped by gender-specific motivations (e.g., shifting the discourse on SV to include men), barriers (e.g., fear of negative reactions), and facilitators (e.g., encouragement from others). The findings on recovery implications showed that positive outcomes of online disclosure included receiving social support and improvedwell-being from alleviating the burden of secrecy. Negative impacts included emotional distress and victim-blaming reactions, often reflecting societal masculinity norms. This study highlights the need to expand the discourse on SV to include men victims and explore newdisclosure avenues, such as online platforms, to better understand the complexities and opportunities of disclosure for men.