Source: dailyherald.com 4/16/23
The statistics are sobering: one in three females and one in 20 males will experience sexual abuse or sexual assault by the time they reach age 17.
The idea that anyone would sexually abuse a child is terrifying, especially for parents and caregivers. But like any risk our children might face, we need to be able to empower them with information that will help them recognize unsafe situations.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, a good time to share the message that all people have the right to govern what happens to their own bodies.
Children and teens who feel in control of their bodies are less likely to fall prey to sexual abusers.
Let’s present information and articles like this one to politicians who refuse to fight unjust registrant laws, especially law-and-order politicians.
That way they can focus on prevention rather than endless punishment laws.
Boundaries are good, defending them( self) is larger issue.
The author points to “modesty” and a home evaluation.
She claims modesty ( body hiding) is the healthy approach.
Apparently she doesn’t know jack about tribal culture. Some where kids run butt naked, but suffer no molestation or body shaming. Why would I expect her to, given her over homogenized, antiseptic training and perspective. No doubt she’d tell a kid to ” tell someone if….” Ok fine, but where’s the part where the kid defends themselves in the instant case- in the moment? How to react in a dangerous situation, how to embrace violence themselves if need be.
I’ll give her extra credit for identifying ” media exposure ” as a threat. But once again she conflates the necessity for defense from interpersonal attack with the necessary defense from exposure to human nudity( modesty).
However, the power is in the secret. Thus, as she herself admits -children will often not tell you about what they’ve seen. Why does she suppose that is? Perhaps that is healthy behavior. Leave it to the Hoover mother to not permit their child any experience or memory that doesn’t include them as the integral portion.
My twin boys wanted Grand Theft Auto, I said fthat, not in my house! They played it anyway, at their friends’ house AND they told me they did it. Now IMO, that is healthy. Did I call their friend’s parents? Hell no. Did I go running to the cops and courts? Hell no. Nor did I cover their eyes in the horse pasture when the stallion ” dropped” nor when the fillies and mares raised their tails. I didn’t even give then grief for skinny dipping with the neighbors girls in the river. No doubt the cops would have charged them all.
But where is the part that says >95% of those who commit crimes where the boundaries are violated are within the home, the family, a playmate, the neighborhood by someone known, or any other person in a position of trust that includes the aforementioned as well as one at a school, church, DOCTOR’s office, etc and not the alleged stranger danger that set everyone off decades ago? Oh wait, don’t want to scare anyone or create any false sense of panic do they when they see those people in positions of trust?
Setting boundaries is great and should be taught en masse continually. However, the parents should also know and realize the reality of things when to this topic and those who actually are those who perpetrate crimes across the boundaries, not those who don’t. Maybe the article’s author needs to hear from a few of the those who visit this forum and let them know they stopped short in their writing to a complete conclusion, IMO.