From
Victims to
Survivors
to
Thrivers, we're here to support male survivors of child abuse on their journey to healing and empowerment.
An Important Message from SOCA
Important Update – A New Chapter for Survivor Support in WA
We are incredibly pleased to announce that the Western Australian Government has agreed to fund Survivors & Mates Support Network (SAMSN) to establish specialist support services for adult male survivors of child sexual abuse in Western Australia.
This means that while SOCA’s peer support service will still conclude on 1 October 2026, the support available to men in Western Australia will not end.
Instead, it will grow.
From October, SAMSN will begin facilitating our fortnightly peer support meetings, alternating between face-to-face meetings in Perth and online meetings. WA survivors will also have access to SAMSN’s peer support telephone service.
As SAMSN establishes its presence in Western Australia, the intention is for survivors here to progressively gain access to the full suite of specialist services SAMSN provides. You can check them out here. https://samsn.org.au/
For SOCA, this is the outcome we have been working towards for many years.
SOCA was established because adult male survivors in Western Australia had nowhere specifically for them to turn. For more than seven years, survivors have volunteered their time, shared their experiences and supported one another to help fill that gap.
We always knew that a volunteer organisation could not—and should not—be expected to carry that responsibility forever.
The 2024 Parliamentary Inquiry Seeking Justice: Improving Options for Survivors of Institutional Child Abuse recognised this gap through Recommendation 20, which called for SAMSN to establish specialist services in Western Australia.
That recommendation will now become a reality.
SOCA will work closely with SAMSN over the coming weeks to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible for the men who currently attend our groups. Our priority throughout this process remains their welfare, continuity of support and the friendships and connections that have developed through SOCA.
For anyone who has been part of SOCA over the past seven years, this isn’t the ending we once feared.
It is the beginning of something better.
To every survivor who trusted us, attended a meeting, picked up the phone, shared their story or simply sat quietly in a room knowing they were finally among people who understood—thank you.
And to those who may be visiting this website for the first time looking for help: There is now a future for specialist male survivor support in Western Australia.
We cannot change what happened to survivors.
But together, we are changing what happens next.
Jarrod Luscombe
Founder – Survivors of Child Abuse (SOCA)
- Were you sexually, physically or emotionally abused as a kid?
- Do you feel like you’re suffering in silence?
- Do you have feelings of shame or guilt?
- Do you feel like you were the only one?
- Are you suffering mentally, emotionally or physically?
As a Peer-to-Peer Support Group, we understand your struggles.
Join us in breaking the cycle and building a community that inspires.
Survivors of Child Abuse Support Group
Nobody wants to have that stigma or title of being a Child Abuse “Victim”.
We can’t change the past but we can help you through the hurdles of being a male “Survivor” of childhood abuse.
You can be more than just a survivor too, but a person that “Thrives!”
Because through adversity comes great strength!
It takes men, on average, 25.6 years to disclose their childhood abuse.
If you want to know more about the findings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Abuse, click here.
What can SOCA do for you?
We could simply offer an empathetic ear or help you find a professional therapist that specialises in childhood abuse victims.
Our Peer-to-Peer support group of other Male survivors with similar lived experiences can be a safe place to share your struggles and learn from others.
You may wish to bring your perpetrator/institution to justice which may mean criminal or civil litigation, accessing the National Redress Scheme or confronting your abuser. Whichever your choice, we can help you through it.
Our supporters and advocates are also working in the background to lobby for legislative review and change, improved funding and services for survivors and ensuring institutions act with integrity, empathy and accountability.
1 in 5 men were sexually abused as children.
You are not alone! (Source)
Are you a Victim or Survivor?
Learn more
Toolbox of things you can do to help yourself
Learn more
What if my mate or loved one is a child abuse survivor?
Learn more
