CANBERRA, Australia, May 20 (UPI) -- A look at sexual abuse in aboriginal communities finds the rape of boys surprisingly high, especially compared with the rest of Australia.
Researchers from the Queensland University of Technology interviewed 301 indigenous men between 18 and 74 years old from Cape York, the Tiwi Islands and southeast Queensland.
Thirty-three percent said they had been abused, much higher than the 12 percent of men in the rest of the country, The Australian reports.
Researchers say the problem is exacerbated by a culture of silence where victims feel ashamed or afraid of speaking out.
The findings come on the heels of major calls to address the abuse of aboriginal girls and women.
A summit of local and state leaders has been called by Australian Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough.
But criticism of law enforcement in the aboriginal areas in the Northern Territory has prompted the state's Chief Minister, Clare Martin, to threaten a boycott of the summit.
