The ecological common factors framework: a contextual, practice-informing framework for adult male survivors of sexual violence

Sexual violence against boys and men remains underacknowledged in research, policy, and practice despite its psychological, relational, and social harms. Existing approaches, including trauma-informed care and common factors scholarship, identify important elements of support but do not fully explain how healing is shaped by ecological conditions for adult male survivors. This paper proposes the Ecological Common Factors Framework (ECFF), a conceptual, practice-informing framework that integrates ecological systems theory, common factors scholarship, research on male survivors’ disclosure and help-seeking, and social work and trauma-informed practice literature. The ECFF organises recovery around four interrelated domains: client factors, practitioner factors, therapeutic relationship factors, and extra-therapeutic context factors across ecological levels. A composite case illustration demonstrates its relevance for assessment, intervention planning, advocacy, resource coordination, and cross-system social work practice. The ECFF offers a more contextually grounded account of healing and provides a foundation for future refinement, empirical testing, and operationalisation.