preventing predatory behavior in our children.
As we teach our children about those that may hurt them we have to also teach our children about boundaries and inappropriate actions so they don’t go on to hurt others. Abusers were once children, after all, and typically they suffer from a childhood full of abuse and neglect.
According to Science Direct, compared to rapists, child sexual abusers reported more frequent experiences of child sexual abuse and exposure to pornography. Alternatively, in contrast to child sexual abusers, rapists reported more frequent experiences of physical abuse, parental violence, and emotional abuse. As you can see, a child’s negative interaction with parents as well as childhood experiences greatly affects their development later in life.
I think most will agree when I say that we should go out of our way to not physically or verbally abuse our child but I think we also need to get rid of the ‘boys will be boys’ attitude as well. This alone may not send your son down the path of becoming a serial rapist, but this type of entitlement and acceptance of overpowering their female counterparts can show up later in life as groping an unwilling coworker or forcing yourself on a drunken coed at a college party.
Being a parent is a tough job and quite honestly it’s the most important job any of us will have. We are raising the future inhabitants world; There is a ton of weight on our shoulders! One of the many jobs we have is to make sure we protect our children from being abused and also from becoming abusers.
During Sexual Assault Awareness month, and throughout the year, us parents should use this time to learn about the signs of sexual abuse in children, as well as have conversations with our children to educate them on sexual assault and form a bond of trust with them. We also need to consider our own actions and make sure that the home environment we have created for our children is free of toxic energy and experiences. If there is any hope that the horrific tales plaguing the headlines of today become a thing of the past we must take all of these things into consideration. The lives of our children and the society of the future depend on it.
Brittany Wright, B.A in Creative writing and English – University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, is an aspiring writer and creator of the She’s Wright blog. This black, millennial mom loves everything beauty, motherhood, and marriage related!
Sources
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0145213408000586
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume 32, Issue 5, May 2008, Pages 549-560
Developmental experiences of child sexual abusers and rapists
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11720655/Sex-offender-Why-I-became-one-and-started-raping-women.html Why I became a sex offender and started raping women 2015
https://www.parentsprotect.co.uk/warning_signs.htm