Contents:
- Medical Video: Abuse Story
- Ways to discuss child sexual abuse if your child has grown up
- Ask about understanding about cases of sexual abuse
- Answer your child's questions in a language that is easy to understand
- Start giving strategy
- What if the child is still too early to talk about this?
- Teach and introduce children to their body parts
- Tell the limit to it
Medical Video: Abuse Story
Talking about sexual abuse of children may be a topic that is quite challenging and taboo to be discussed. However, this needs to be discussed so that your child can avoid the risk of child sexual abuse. Sara McGovern, press secretary at Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, America stated that it was important to teach children about their own bodies and certain limitations related to the body as personal privacy.
Many parents want to discuss this with their daughters but are often confused about how to deliver it correctly. Every child needs a different approach and method of delivery, depending on each age. The following is the delivery method that you can adopt when discussing sexual abuse with children.
Ways to discuss child sexual abuse if your child has grown up
Ask about understanding about cases of sexual abuse
If your child already has a social media account, maybe he has been following the news. But it's best not to guess, you should keep asking him what he knows, where he gets the information, and what things he understands about sexual harassment.
When you start discussing, you can explain what sexual abuse is and what its various forms are. Emphasize it if sexual harassment can happen to anyone and at any time. Therefore, it is important to protect yourself and be aware of the surrounding environment.
Answer your child's questions in a language that is easy to understand
Of course after he receives all the information from you and social media, there must be a lot of things he wants to ask. Give the child the opportunity to ask questions, even ask him to do that.
In explaining, use a language that is easily understood by the child. When you convey or answer your child's questions, avoid using words that scare him.
Remember, the purpose of this discussion is to increase your child's awareness and understanding of child sexual abuse. Instead of scaring, you can say like this:
"In this world there are many very good men and women to be friends with. However, there are some men who sometimes dare to discuss pornographic matters or touch their interlocutors without permission. If you experience that, tell your father and mother. "
In addition, you can also teach children about sexual abuse with children when they see scenes on film, TV, or real life if there are examples of behavior that does not show respect for women. Associate with the limits of men's attitudes that lead to sexual harassment.
Start giving strategy
After he understands, it's best to give him advice and strategies on how to avoid sexual abuse. Because, teenagers who tend to have labile emotions will be very easily affected. This then makes it vulnerable to child sexual abuse.
Tell the child to be able to say "no" if a friend does things that lead to sexual abuse, for example holding vital organs or showing indecent images.
Usually teenagers are in a quite extreme relationship and during trial and error. Tell him if his conscience says there is something wrong in his association then he must get out of a situation that does not make him comfortable.
In addition, you also need to tell if there is an older person who does this so he just needs to go to a safe place immediately and tell this to the closest person.
What if the child is still too early to talk about this?
When you decide to start discussing sexual abuse with children, it's good to adjust the language and the choice of words according to their age. Karen Soren, MD, a pediatric professor at Columbia University Medical Center, said that parents should start discussing problems like this when children are 4 to 6 years old.
At that age, children are usually old enough to absorb what is said and do certain commands. So, if your child is very young, you can start a conversation by:
Teach and introduce children to their body parts
The first thing you need to do to discuss sexual abuse with children is to teach children about their own body parts, especially private parts such as breasts and genitals.
This method is done to invite children to recognize the names of body parts, especially the private part. That way when the incident of abuse one day happened to him he could clearly tell his chronology.
Tell the limit to it
After the child clearly knows the private parts of his body, you can begin to teach about the boundaries of his body ownership. Tell the child that all parts of his body are his own. So he may determine what other people do to his body, such as touching or seeing certain body parts.
Talk to the child that there are certain body parts that should not be touched and seen by any person, namely the body part that is covered by clothes. Tell the child if there is a touch and asks to see the private parts on his body he can say "no" without the need to feel afraid.
In explaining sexual abuse to children you should use certain examples to make it easier for children to understand it. This is also done so that the child clearly remembers the examples that have been mentioned and practiced.
So if an event occurs that is similar to the example the child can imitate what he has learned with you.
