Assault and care characteristics of victims of sexual violence in eleven Medecins Sans Frontieres programs in Africa. What about men and boys?

Background Often neglected, male-directed sexual violence (SV) has recently gained recognition as a significant issue. However, documentation of male SV patients, assaults and characteristics of presentation for care remains poor. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) systematically documented these in all victims admitted to eleven SV clinics in seven African countries between 2011 and 2017, providing a unique opportunity to describe SV patterns in male cases compared to females, according to age categories and contexts, thereby improving their access to SV care. Methods and findings This was a multi-centric, cross-sectional study using routine program data. The study included 13550 SV cases, including 1009 males (7.5%). Proportions of males varied between programs and contexts, with the highest being recorded in migratory contexts (12.7%). Children (