Lasting Effects of Male Sexual Abuse
Photo: George Burns/Harpo Studios
On November 5, 2010, Oprah, Tyler Perry and 200 male audience members made television history when they stood together to say they were sexually abused as children. Now, the significant others and family members of these courageous men are joining the conversation.
"When abuse destroys the man, it destroys everything in their lives, including their relationships," Oprah says. "Sexual abuse—I know this for sure—plants the seeds of inferiority and worthlessness, and then that inferiority and worthlessness shapes the way you start to think about yourself and the way you act and act out. That's why we're here today: to release some of that."
"When abuse destroys the man, it destroys everything in their lives, including their relationships," Oprah says. "Sexual abuse—I know this for sure—plants the seeds of inferiority and worthlessness, and then that inferiority and worthlessness shapes the way you start to think about yourself and the way you act and act out. That's why we're here today: to release some of that."