Listen to
the boys.

Too often, the voices of boys affected by sexual abuse are drowned out by fear and stigma. Speak It Out is about breaking that silence: educating boys and the adults around them, providing the tools to understand, recognise, and speak out about abuse. Together, we challenge the shame, empower boys to reclaim their voice, and ensure no one suffers in silence.

1/6 boys suffer sexual abuse some researchers find as many as 1/5
93% know their perpetrator  
4/5 reports reference childhood  
1 educational visit can make a difference  

Our Story

Where it
all began.

Speak It Out started with a nudge. Our founder Kieron was sat in a meeting with other teachers, tasked with planning a session for boys whilst the girls had a session with Rape Crisis. Nobody was thinking of anything equivalent. They were thinking of something to fill the time.

That moment didn't sit right. So Kieron did something about it.

Read Our Story ↗

"Boys are disregarded because sexual abuse amongst men isn't considered a pressing issue."

Kieron, Founder

What we work against

Three compounding
silences.

Boys who experience sexual violence don't face one barrier. They face three, each reinforcing the last. Understanding them is where effective safeguarding has to begin.

The first silence

The Boy Is Taught Not to Tell

Boys learn early that strength means staying quiet. Talking about pain, fear, or violation gets coded as weakness, and that message doesn't come from nowhere. It's reinforced at home, at school, in sport, in the way we talk about what it means to be a boy.

By the time something happens that warrants telling, most boys have already decided that no one really wants to hear it. That silence was taught to them. And it holds.

The second silence

Institutions Are Built Not to See

The training, the referral pathways, the statutory guidance — almost all of it was written with girls in mind. That's not a criticism of the people working within those systems. It's just true. When a boy shows signs of sexual harm, the professionals around him are often working with frameworks that weren't designed to spot it.

And even when someone does see it, the right pathway often doesn't exist. The structures meant to protect children have blind spots for boys that are built in, not accidental. Speak It Out works on both problems at once.

The third silence

Parents Are Taught Not to Look

Parents are often the people best placed to notice something is wrong. But most have never been given the language, the signs, or the confidence to recognise what abuse can look like in a boy. The conversations we have about child sexual abuse tend to focus on strangers, on girls, on obvious red flags.

A parent watching their son become withdrawn, angry, or closed off often has no framework for understanding why. Speak It Out gives parents what they were never given: the knowledge to look, and the words to start the conversation.

Upcoming Project

The Speak It Out
Podcast Series

Men with lived experience of sexual violence sharing their stories, so that boys and men around the world know they aren't alone. We have 6 episodes funded through sponsorship and a long list of men ready to speak out. Our goal of £2,600 will fund 10 more episodes.

Support the Podcast

You can
help.

Whether you're a school, a safeguarding lead, a researcher, or someone who simply recognises what we're describing, we want to hear from you. Find out how to get involved, support our work, or bring Speak It Out into your school.

Donate