The reality of child sex abuse: being a responsible parent

There is really no reasonable excuse these days for any California parent to be in the dark regarding their children and the potential for sexual abuse.

And the reasons for that are obvious.

For starters, it is simply a stark and long-noted fact that acts of sexual abuse committed against children do occur and have always occurred. There is no way to sugarcoat the frightening fact that there are sexual predators among us who are often able to take advantage of kids because of professional or volunteer positions they assume that elicit the trust of adults and their children. It is no surprise that sexual abusers of children are frequently teachers, coaches, clergy members and mentors.

We all know that, and we further know that we are not helpless in responding to that reality. There are purposeful steps that any thoughtful parent can take to guard against the sexual abuse of their children, and there are myriad resources — including strong legal representation — that can be tapped to fight against that pernicious evil.

Some useful recommendations focusing on the topic are presented in a recent article that counsels parents at the very outset to become educated regarding the material facts surrounding child sex abuse.

Here’s one: Reportedly, about 10 percent of all kids will be sex abuse victims before they reach the age of majority. Additionally, it is a notable rarity — almost an aberrational occurrence — for a victim to be unfamiliar with his or her abuser (again, persons in authority positions who are known and deeply trusted by children and their parents are often perpetrators).

The above article provides readers with a number of food-for-thought considerations to think about regarding the safety of their children.

We will note some of those material points in our next blog post.