ONE of the state's only dedicated services for male survivors of child sexual abuse is unfunded by governments, overwhelmed by demand, and continues to operate on compensation a founding director received as an abuse victim.
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"It's a ridiculous situation and it's wrong, and we back them 100 per cent," said NSW Council of Social Services chief executive Tracy Howe of the Survivors and Mates Support Network (SAMSN) on the eve of workshops in the Hunter for men and health professionals.
"Other services that are funded by government make referrals to SAMSN, yet it's not funded."
SAMSN was established in 2010 by abuse survivors Craig Hughes-Cashmore and Shane McNamara. The two men ran a pilot workshop for male survivors in Newcastle in November 2012.
Despite referrals to its programs from organisations, including Bravehearts, the NSW Rape Crisis Centre, NSW Victims Services and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, SAMSN has been unsuccessful in applications for government funding.
It runs on donations and Mr Hughes-Cashmore's compensation payout as an abuse survivor.
This year it will run workshops for male survivors and their families in Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Parramatta and Wollongong, and eight-week group therapy programs for male survivors.
It will run a workshop for psychologists and other health professionals in Newcastle on May 19, a one-day program for Hunter male survivors and their families on May 30, and an eight-week group therapy program for Hunter male survivors from June 10.
Phone calls for help jumped from 152 in February to 212 in March after a damning royal commission public hearing into prestigious Sydney private school Knox Grammar.
More than 60 per cent of people who have had private hearings with the royal commission are men.
Mr Hughes-Cashmore said SAMSN was an organisation established by two survivors of multiple child sex offences who had successfully taken both criminal and civil action against offenders and institutions.
SAMSN's group therapy programs, developed and run by consultant psychologist Mark Griffiths, helped reduce the isolation and shame many men felt about their abuse, and allowed them to hope for a recovery.
"There is a desperate need for services specifically for men," Mr Hughes-Cashmore said. "The royal commission has opened up a can of worms, and for a lot of male survivors doing nothing is no longer an option.
"That's when governments need to provide specialised support for men."
SAMSN can be contacted on 8355 3711 or on its website.
