My name is Martin Pelders, Founder of MatrixMen Africa. 

I started MatrixMen 10 years ago to support men through recovery from sexual abuse. Over the years we have evolved to support men that are struggling with abusive childhoods, GBV in their homes, toxic divorce situations and recovery from narcissistic parent abuse.

I myself am a survivor of sexual abuse having been raped from the age of 5 to the age of 19 by various men and women.

An issue that we want to highlight is the fact that in my country more boys suffer sexual abuse than girls each year, 36.8% as opposed to 33.2%, yet all we talk about is the feminine victims. 

It’s a tough issue, we are not trying to take away from the plight of the girls, we’re just trying to highlight the boys so that they can also begin to break the silence and start healing.

We also have to highlight that the majority of the rapes and sexual abuses are perpetrated by women. It’s not an easy discussion as gender biases tell us that all women are nurturing. I tell my story so that hopefully other men can begin to heal.