This article references sexual violence.

On Monday, 2 October, BBC Panorama reported on the sexual assault allegations against Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) and his partner, Matthew Smith. The pair are now facing a potential sex trafficking investigation after they were accused of exploiting young men for sex.

The documentary is a harrowing watch, but one which successfully raises awareness of sexual violence against men. Throughout the episode, it illustrates how hard it is for survivors to speak out, and how men are often disbelieved as victims of sexual assault.

Using a middleman, Jeffries and Smith are said to have found young men and coerced them into attending sex events the couple hosted during the 1990s and 2000s. The BBC identified the middleman as James Jacobson. Eight men told the BBC they had attended these events, some of whom alleged they were exploited or sexually abused.

“He was selling fame. And the price was compliance.”

As part of an investigation spanning nearly three years, the BBC spoke to 12 men who described attending or organising events involving sex acts run for Jeffries and Smith between 2009 and 2015.

Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith did not respond to the investigation's requests for comment, but Jacobson did, saying that everyone he came into contact with attended these events “with their eyes wide open”. In a statement issued through his lawyer, he took offence at the accusation of “any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part” and had “no knowledge of any such conduct by others”.

One of the men who came forward for the documentary, given the pseudonym Alex to protect his identity, described being assaulted in Marrakesh at one of these events: “I believe there is a very good possibility I was drugged and raped. I'll probably never, never know for sure the answer of what happened.”

Barrett Pall, another victim who spoke out, said, “This experience, I think it broke me. I think that this stole any ounce of innocence that I had left. It mentally messed me up. But with the language I now have today, I can sit here and tell you that I was taken advantage of.”

One of the accusers, David Bradberry, who chose to go public with his allegations, said he was introduced to Jacobson by an agent  – who described himself as the gatekeeper to the “owners” of A&F –  in 2010 when he was 23 but that there was no mention of sex. Following their meeting, he said Mr Jacobson suggested Bruce Weber (then A&F’s official photographer) should take his picture. Bradberry said “Jim made it clear to me that unless I let him perform oral sex on me, that I would not be meeting with Abercrombie & Fitch or Mike Jeffries.” Continuing to say, “I was paralysed; it was like he was selling fame. And the price was compliance.”

All the men said they were required to sign non-disclosure agreements, but they were given little time to read it and were not allowed to keep copies, but understood they would be sued if they spoke out. Bradberry said the NDA signing “felt like intimidation”.

A&F said it was “appalled and disgusted” by the allegations and has instructed a law firm to conduct an independent investigation.

In a poignant moment, Pall tearfully says: “I didn't say no. I didn't say yes either. I didn't have control.”

Tanaka Mhishi, a performer and author of Sons and Others: Loving Male Survivors, told GLAMOUR, “It means a huge amount to see that Panorama even investigated this. I'm still so used to my experiences of abuse being dismissed, but this documentary reminds me that society can take experiences like ours seriously when it wants to.”

Speaking with GLAMOUR, the CEO of SurvivorsUK Gary Williams, says: “I think at the heart of it, we have rich and powerful men using the chance of fame as a lure to trap and abuse young men – the casting couch has never gone away.” Explaining that “The documentary portrays young gay guys feeling ‘this is the way it is, and I just need to get through it’ about such horrendous abuse accords with our own survey, that found that 45% of gay and bisexual men have experienced sexual abuse of some form.”

SurvivorsUK works to ensure that “Every boy, man, and non-binary person in the UK has access to the support they need to navigate the impact of sexual violence and begin their journey of recovery.” Every year, more than 84,000 men, boys and non-binary people are raped, sexually abused or sexually assaulted. Of those, only 4% tell somebody at any point in their life, and for that tiny percentage, it takes an average of 26 years.

“So often, such men think it comes with the territory, and will blame themselves for getting into such a situation, but it is vital that they understand that it is not they who are to blame, but their abusers," says Williams. “We applaud anyone who does the hard work of coming forward after experiencing sexual abuse or exploitation. As a society, we need to meet that hard work by preventing such abuse in the future and by putting resources into helping those affected to heal. Right now we are failing to do that, especially for men and boys.”

Shame around sexual assault is pervasive and silences all survivors. Just as we are fighting for female survivors to be heard, we must do the same for men and non-binary people. There is a mainstream conversation happening about rape and sexual assault right now – with the allegations against Russell Brand creating widespread discourse. During this, I have seen a lot of rape apologists and mass misunderstandings around what a victim ‘looks’ like; but according to 2018 data, a man is 230 times more likely to be raped than to be falsely accused of rape.

“With recent polls suggesting that 42% of British men are victims of a sexual crime in their lifetimes, we can no longer afford to see these forms of violence as limited to one company, industry or demographic. We all have men like this in our lives, whether they feel able to come forward or not, and it’s important to remember that as we work towards a world where victims and survivors no longer have to be ashamed,” says Williams.

Male victims of sexual violence exist – and they deserve to be heard. It's imperative we pay attention to stories like this.

If you need support as a male or non-binary survivor of sexual assault, visit https://www.survivorsuk.org.

The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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