Whipple Plenary: Black Male Sexual Victimization

St. Louis Union Station Hotel 

Published Room: Grand Ballroom 

Black males are disproportionately victims of sexual violence, intimate partner violence/homicide (IPV/IPH), and suicide. Recent data from the CDC's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS/2022) indicate that 58 percent of Black males report sexual violence, physical violence, and or stalking by an intimate partner. Black males overwhelmingly report being made to penetrate, sexual coercion, and unwarranted sexual contact where the primary perpetrators are female. Frameworks such as intersectionality fail to adequately capture Black male vulnerability. Most frameworks that attempt to explain the experiences of Black males are deficit and pathology-oriented frameworks that lack empirical evidence and are inherently racist. This presentation provides comprehensive information on Black male sexual victimization that fills a critical and urgent void in the mental health field. Therefore, professionals will be able to begin to adequately recognize and articulate the sexual victimization of Black males and provide responsive care and clinical interventions that inform treatment approaches.

Intended Audience: All Audiences

Describe the sexual victimization of Black men and boys.

Examine a prevailing racial script in the Black community.

Assess the clinical implications of the sexual victimization of Black men and boys