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"The first organization in Africa to support and talk about male survivors of sexual abuse. MatrixMen's purpose is to raise awareness about male survivors of sexual abuse. The aim we have is to empower men that have been victims of sexual abuse to get permission to heal through hearing the stories of men that have been through the same as they have. We want men to hear that they are not alone, they are not the only ones." Peer support organisation for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse, trauma, and abuse; online and in-person support groups; men's mental health **Who MatrixMen serves:** - Male survivors of childhood sexual abuse (including abuse by women — a population frequently overlooked) - Men dealing with trauma, addiction, anger, and low self-esteem rooted in childhood experience - Boys at risk or in need of mentorship - Women survivors (online groups, separate from men's groups — listed on support groups page) - Men supporting or living with survivors **Programmes and services:** 1. **Childhood Trauma Recovery Groups (men only)** — small groups of up to 7 men; structured programme guiding participants from acknowledging victimhood through processing what happened to developing new life skills; in-person (Randburg, JHB) and **online nationally** 2. **Childhood Trauma Recovery Groups (women only)** — online nationally; separate group for initial stages of recovery (safety and gender-separated) 3. **Social Survivor Evenings** — peer social events for people post-healing; in-person in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town; low-pressure, community-building 4. **Fireside Meets (men)** — regular safe-space meetings for men to share about daily struggles (work, fathering, relationships, anger, addiction) in a non-judgmental peer setting; in-person at Randburg office 5. **Online Men's Group** — broad support for men struggling with the challenges life throws at them; weekly online meetings 6. **Court process support** — accompaniment and guidance for male survivors pursuing prosecution of their perpetrators 7. **Recovery Weekends** — residential weekend intensives focusing on holistic healing: mental health, nutrition, sleep, exercise 8. **Mentorship and training for boys** — in development; awaiting public works assistance with premises 9. **Report Your Paedophile** — dedicated resource and tool for reporting child sexual abuse 10. **Mental health / EQ training** — helping men move away from the "big five" destructive coping mechanisms: sex, sport, silence, addiction, and anger; teaching emotional communication skills

Counselling & Therapy

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Contact & Location

: David/Pieter/Mark/Martin
: 27 Grosvenor Ave, Craighall, Johannesburg, 2194
: 081 430 4445
0725247990
0828507663
: martin@matrixmen.org / pieter@matrixmen.org
: https://www.matrixmen.org

Opening Hours

Opening hours not available. Contact the organisation directly.

About

Why this matters for the survivor website: MatrixMen addresses a population that is almost entirely invisible in GBV support services: male survivors. Boys and men who have been sexually abused are at higher risk of perpetrating violence if untreated — and are also at high risk of suicide, addiction, and homelessness. Supporting male survivors is both a matter of justice to those survivors AND one of the most effective structural interventions to reduce the cycle of GBV. MatrixMen's founder Martin Pelders himself survived childhood sexual abuse by both women and men — a reality that sits completely outside mainstream GBV discourse, and one that leaves many male survivors without any frame of reference or support.

MatrixMen works with male survivors of childhood sexual abuse and trauma, as well as men struggling with addiction, anger, low self-esteem, and mental health challenges rooted in unprocessed childhood experience. It runs structured Childhood Trauma Recovery Groups (maximum 7 men; guided process from acknowledgement through healing to new skills) both in-person in Randburg and online nationally; separate online recovery groups for women; Fireside Meets where men share openly about the real struggles of their daily lives in a non-judgmental peer setting; Social Survivor Evenings in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town for people in later stages of recovery; an online men's support group; court process accompaniment for survivors prosecuting their perpetrators; recovery weekends focusing on holistic health (mental, nutrition, sleep, exercise); and a Report Your Paedophile tool. MatrixMen also works to build mentorship and training facilities for boys, and runs EQ/emotional communication training for men — specifically targeting the "big five" destructive male coping mechanisms: sex, sport, silence, addiction, and anger. The reason this work matters for GBV: male survivors who receive no support are at dramatically higher risk of suicide, addiction, homelessness — and of perpetuating the cycle of violence. Healing boys and men is not in competition with centring women survivors; it is one of the most structurally important interventions for building a safer society. For crisis: SADAG 0800 567 567 / GBV Command Centre 0800 428 428 (toll-free, 24/7).