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INTRODUCTION
• Personnel working in health care .
• Humanitarian workers in emergency settings .
• Volunteers and professionals who work in refugee camps or with refugees .
• Volunteers and professionals who deliver public and private services ( housing , welfare , etc .).
• Voluntary and professional caregivers .
• School teachers .
• Social workers .
Helpers are not expected to have any formal medical background or training ( as a nurse , psychologist or medical doctor ). They are expected to have had close contact with survivors through their work as helpers .
The manual particularly emphasises the importance of cultural sensitivity when meeting boys and men of different ages who have different cultural and religious backgrounds or sexual orientation . The goal is to strengthen psychosocial help for male survivors , so that more people in this vulnerable group receive help and support from available local and specialised services wherever they live ( in asylum reception centres , housing associations , private accommodation , etc .).
1.7 How to use the manual
The manual can be used to support organised teaching , training and supervision , and also for self-study alone or in groups . To facilitate the use of the manual for training purposes we have added boxes that give advice to trainers . These may also be useful for helpers . The manual further contains practical exercises , such as stabilisation exercises and role-plays that can be organised with others . You can adjust these exercises and role plays to practise them on your own . The manual can be seen as a collection of useful proposals , a practical resource for daily use . It also brings together background knowledge that can be useful when talking with survivors . It aims to strengthen understanding of human rights and their relevance to practical work . The fact that many survivors have been exposed to serious human rights violations and may have ideas about how these should be addressed , is a reminder that helpers should make themselves aware of the relationship between violations of human rights and provision of assistance .
1.8 The manual ’ s structure
Part One ( this Introduction ) provides practical information about the manual , its purpose , use and structure . It is followed by five original and fictional stories about abuse and traumatic events , which are based on professional sources and client histories . We refer to certain diagnostic categories and descriptions because these are often used in the professional literature and in references . But the main purpose is to describe the behavioural and psychological reactions of male survivors of sexual violence concretely , so that the experiences and responses are recognisable in other situations .
The stories presents individual and cultural differences in order to assist helpers to understand survivors ’ reactions and support them in the best possible way . They reflect the diversity of individual experiences ; but they share common features in that they all describe experiences of direct or indirect violence and abuse , humiliation , human rights violations , or threats that relate to