Sexual abuse is one of the most horrific crimes against humanity. Seeing your loved ones go through the harrowing experience of sexual abuse is a very painful experience. At least 18% of the women and 7.3% of the men are subjected to sexual abuse. And this is only the recorded data. Under the books, there are thousands of such cases where our loved one goes through the whole turmoil of being sexually abused without letting anyone know about it.
The most disappointing factor being- Almost more than half of the time, the abuser is someone close to the victim, discouraging him from revealing any names or blames. But is there a way to stop such incidents? The answer is yes. Educating a child about sexual abuse early in life will help thwart off any unwanted advances from sexual predators lurking in the society, saving themselves from a lifetime of pain and scars. This article will focus on how to avoid sexual abuse in the first place. Let’s take a look.
Open communication
One out of 9 girls and 1 out of 30 boys are subjected to sexual abuse at least once in their lifetime, with at least half of the victims being teenagers below 17. In order to identify and keep your child safe, always encourage the child to be frank with you. When it comes to sexual abuse of a child, often the abuser threatens the child with dire consequences and drinking from their fear. But, if you have open communication, there is a high possibility that your child may drop a hint. Criticizing, pushing him to tell you all, and condemning him may make the child retaliate in ways that are unfathomable and hence should be discouraged.
Be aware throughout
Always pay attention to your child. Every time they go out on their own to play, or for school, pay attention to your child each time they are back. A child who has been abused will display a grave change in personality as the brain doesn’t know how to mask a shock. One of the biggest steps that you, as a parent, can take to safeguard your child is to be aware of the whereabouts of your child at all times.
Educating about body parts
This training should be given early to kids as they are still exploring everything and knowing their own body parts. As a parent or counselor, it’s your responsibility to teach them how to treat their body. Along with this, identifying and teaching them about private body parts is extremely important. The importance and privacy associated with private body parts is something that should be taught at home. This will allow the child to identify any predators lurking in their knowing circle and will allow them to discourage their advances
Educating about good touch and bad touch
This is a very important lesson in a child’s growing up life. Children are simple and innocent and view everyone as a friend disabling them to identify toxic touches. Educating them about how to identify a good touch and how to identify a bad touch is a very important lesson that one should never forget to give one’s child. If anyone touches their private parts, they should get help immediately. This will allow them to discourage anyone with a dirty mind, thus saving themselves from any untoward incident.
Body secrets fad
Often, when a child reaches the adolescent stage, they usually become secretive as they explore new emotions and are not comfortable to share. This is ok as long as those are not body-secrets. Educating the child that harboring a body-secret can be dangerous and should be immediately discussed is a lesson that should be taught to the child to save him from any abuse of any kind.
Power to say no
Many kids are scared or hesitant to say no, even if something unpleasant happens to them. Teaching them to get out of uncomfortable situations is very important to avoid any sexual abuse. This requires a little bit of training and should be done at home as an inability to say no is nature and difficult to change. But if caught early, they can change, avoiding any unprecedented incident.
Having a danger code
Mobiles are a commodity and necessity nowadays, and using it properly can save your child’s life. Always teach your child a safe word or a danger code, if he feels the danger around. Messaging or texting is the best way to notify a parent without letting the abuser no about it. Thus, this should be implemented early in life.
Children are easily manipulated and can be lured at ease by anyone intending on exploiting them. But these safety measures can save your child’s life from the dangers around when it comes to sexual abuse. We cannot control any factors, but we can prepare them for such incidences so that they can remain careful throughout all walks of life.
