Sexual Abuse, Rape, Abuctions

[TinksX]

We live in a world where all of these things happen but how old should a child be before they lear about it.

DO we risk terrofying them so they don't want to go out on the streets or anywhere alone causing early anxiety etc.

Or Warn them about it in a chance that it will get through to the people affected.

I know a few people who have encountered sexual abuse and rape etc. and i don't think there is enough support out there but i know one encounter happened very young by a friend of a family, So discuss what age you think it's right to show a child the 'true' side of society?

[GemmaJamPot]

Im not sure what id say the "right age" is. I think that as they start to grow up they will learn about these things from the tv and friends anyway etc, but they need to know to be cautious before this. I think that they shouldnt be told fully at a small age, but they should be told about what to do if a stranger was talking to them or if they were abducted etc. However, if it was someone they knew that did something to them, this wouldnt apply. Its a tough one... :\

X

[TinksX]

they were thinking of doing a booklet about this and that talking about someone touching you in certain places and showing it to 7-8 year olds where the idea for a discussion came from.

[GemmaJamPot]

Ahh ok.. tbh I dont think its that bad of an idea. This happens alot, and its disgusting... they need to know about it I guess :\

X

[X.HollyPop.X]

Yeah they need to know about it at some stage.
But maybe you should wait for them to ask rather than sitting them down and making it a childhood talk like where babies come from and such like.
Its not really a necessity for children of a young age to know about rage, they probably dont even know what sex is tbh.
Why not let a child hold on to there childhood as long as possible?

[GemmaJamPot]

^ I agree, but with things like sexual abuse happening to children... would it be better to prepare them just in case? Or to keep them in the dark until they are a bit older?

X

[conor]

I think it's probably not a good idea.
The best idea is to give them information about not talking to strangers, being kidnapped, etc. Try to make them afraid of what strangers might do but don't go into sexual specifics.
It's not right to ruin a child's innocence when the real problem is that these people can do it and get away with it.

[tf_arl_90]

I'd like to preserve a child's innocence for as long as possible, I think most people do. A basic education about not talking to strangers, not going places alone, what to do if approached, etc. is important. I'm not sure if I would delve into the details immediately.

I think it also depends on the child, his/her personality, temperament, and maturity level, as well as the type of neighborhood they're growing up in. Setting a particular age won't work very well in my opinion. Children are so different.

[Glamour_Love]

I've looked at this thread a couple of times now and haven't been able to respond. Coming from someone who has been unlucky enough to experience rape I would say a child's innocence needs to be proteted for as long as humanly possible. I agree with the above post about rather inforcing the broad mindset of general safety, but not all rape's are committed by strangers, mine wasn't and neither are the majority. At the end of the day, I did know about rape and general safety awareness when it happened to me, sometimes you're forced into a situation and no amount of forward thinking can help you.

[VraiCanon]

To tell a child about these things, to warn them is a good idea in theory. However, with a young and naive child these warnings may just cause unnecessary worry/anxiousness, an unwillingness to go out and 'be a child' etc.
I'm not really sure where I stand on this.

Children are abused my family members but are infact unaware that they are being abused/that it is wrong. I can't even begin to understand when THEY become aware they are abused - how do they find out?

Should these warnings be through the family or should they be through education? Maybe both.

[zakarius]

to warn children about society is a good thing however the chances of being the victim of an assualt or a sexual assualt are so slim these days that most people dont even think about it.

the media already make todays society look god awful when in fact the BCS shows that crime rates are indeed FALLING,

i dont think that warning children is a good idea, they may become irrationally scared of the outside and any strangers they meet, yes tell them not to talk to strangers etc, but if a child is scared of everyone and everything like our modern day media is seemingly trying to do then how are people going to function within society itself

[Glamour_Love]

I wouldn't take crime rates at face value zak, a lot of crimes just go unreported, especially of this nature.

[TinksX]

yeah, kids are really scared of what will happen to them if they talk about it. If they don't know what's inapprropriate from a young age then they might thing it's what just happens it might seem weird to people who aren't affected but offenders make victims feel like they aren't worth being ok so self worth and understanding of the system i think is fairly important. i would love for kids to remain innocent but it isn't so nowadays people gettin killed, stabbed.

People i know who have been affected by all sexual abuse really don't want to come forward because they're afraid they won't be believed, that someone will hurt them, that parents won't believe it etc.

I also don't know how to approach the problem because it is such a serious secretive thing.

[conor]

Well, you talked about feelings of no self-worth there.. maybe it might be a good idea to work on promoting self-confidence in children.
"There's more than one way to skin a cat."