Written by: Isaac Omollo
Stopping child sexual abuse is neither a foreign nor a difficult thing… ‘it is uncomfortable’ and that is why a lot of people like you stay silent. The truth is, this issue thrives not because it’s impossible but because we choose to look the other way.
Let’s start acknowledging that this issue happens everywhere..in our homes, schools, and communities, yet we treat it as someone else’s problem. So why do we prioritize social niceties over protecting our children?
Why do we allow cultural taboos to shield predators?
We need to do more than just providing our children with their basic needs but also educate them on how to keep safe. Why do we blame our children, accusing them of misconduct yet we fail to protect them? It is not the responsibility of the children to prevent harm from getting them but our responsibility as adults. Our children are incapable of self protection. Why leave them on their own?
We have various ways on how we can help our children from sexual violence. Our first and foremost responsibility as elderly people is to make sure we know the whereabouts of our children for us to be in a position to help them in case they need our help at any given point. We also need to educate our children on how to respond to various situations from different people. Not everyone has a good motive for our children, and as adults, we need to quickly recognize this from our children and be able to help them.
They will not always be comfortable to open up on different situations and address them to parents, caregivers and guardians but they(parents, caregivers and guardians) should always be assertive and read their emotions, know when they are okay and when they are not. Their trust in parents doesn’t just come naturally because they are our children, but what does it take for them to gain trust and share with you what they go through? Our children are equally important thus it is important for you as parents, caregivers, and guardians to involve them in relevant things we do, spend time with them, get to know how their day has been and have a strong connection with them. Creating a special bond with them not only enables them to be open to you but also makes you learn from and about our children. Involving our children in decision making with relevant ideas can boost the children’s trust in you. Let us not always make decisions for our children. If it is a must for you to direct them in doing something, let us always give them choices. If there’s a party somewhere that needs to be attended, let us hear their opinions by asking them if they would want to attend or not. This will give them a sense of confidence and have trust in us and always feel comfortable sharing their situation.
It’s really important to know the rights of children and to avoid the violation. Everyone should understand what feels safe and what doesn’t.
The more people know how to keep children safe, the easier it will be to protect everyone. When kids, parents, teachers, and everyone in the community works together, we can make sure every child feels safe and loved. If you ever notice something is wrong with the child, don’t wait for her to speak it out if she seems nervous. Approach them and have a chat with them.
Together, we can all help make the world a safer place for every child.
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