Nov 20 2008
Your role to prevent child molestation!
A 13-year old boy was one of millions of children worldwide, full of dreams and hopes. But, sexual abuse by a neighbor and testing positive for HIV has clouded the lad’s plans for the future.
The boy revealed that his abuser was a smooth-talking neighbor, who lured him with bike rides, money and sweets and then abused him. If the boy complained, he would be threatened. The illicit liaison, that included brutality lasted from May to early September this year, when the boy fell ill and tests revealed he was HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) positive.
That was the boy’s father lodged a complaint on October 31 with the women and child protection unit alleging that his minor son had been sexually abused by a neighbor.
The accused was arrested and tests at a hospital showed that the accused was HIV positive.
Even as the family is beginning to cope with this knowledge, they fear their son may be kidnapped by the abuser or even abused further.
But the boy doesn’t understand the fuss around him. He admits he feels angry, scared and anxious but he wants to play, cook and do exactly as he did before.
This news article from a local newspaper caught my eye and made me think that the boy was too scared to tell his parents but aren’t the parents equally responsible for this?
This article deals about what you can do to stop child molestation.
Child abuse comprises of someone having sex with you, touching your private parts or forcing you to touch them, exposing your private parts or taking nude pictures of you. Report it immediately! If no one is doing anything to stop it, report it to the police. You must do this for your sake and to help the person doing this to you.
Most molestations are done by a trusted adult. The younger the child, the more difficult it is to determine if you child has been molested.
As a parent, it is very essential to know about your child’s whereabouts and to know if everything is okay. The easiest way is to talk to him/her.
Some of the signs of child molestation are as follows:
1. School or behavioral problems.
2. Extreme mood swings, fearfulness.
3. Nightmares, sleep disturbances.
4. Bruises, rashes and multiple injuries that cannot be explained.
5. Pain, itching, bleeding or discharge from the private parts.
6. Acting out inappropriate sexual activity.
Prevention:
It’s not that easy to prevent molestation but you should do whatever can be done.
1. Always have another trusted friend or relative so that there are always 2 adults with the child.
2. Always know about your child’s friend and his/her parents.
3. Talk to your child. Ask him/her about what he/she did today at school or elsewhere.
4. Make sure each child has their own room.
5. Use computer monitoring and filtering service on the internet. For a child, images can be as sexually damaging as touch.
