Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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It is amazing how often children are told at school about the dangers of lice in their hair, cleaning your teeth, what to do if there is an earthquake and all sorts of issues, but not a word about child abuse. The sad statistic is that 9 out of 10 children, who are sexually abused, are sexually abused by somebody they know. I don’t think that topics like this should be taboo at school. The more we talk about things like this, the more they are taught about things like this at school, the more that type of abuse will be stamped out and the more terrified abusers will be to do anything to little children. In many respects, and I know there are some people who will say that children should have innocent childhoods and should not hear these types of things, we make it easier for abusers, simply by ensuring that children hear not a word about these types of topics.
I have always made sure that my children are aware that not all adults are good people, and not all adults do good things and if at any stage anybody starts behaving strangely with them or trying to do strange things to them, they should tell me and my wife immediately. There is no use in being guarded about these types of things while they will walk past, if not watch with, mom and dad watching an action movie that will involve people getting run over by motorcars, shot to death, exploded, etc and then we keep quiet about the actual kinds of abuse they are most likely to face.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Friday 16-Mar-18
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Comments
Cornelie said:
on Tuesday 17-Apr-18 12:53 PM
It so so scary once you have your own child to think of these sort of things it can even happen at school another child sees at home and think its okay. My heart break for those children and I do think it must be a topic at school especially primary school.
Joyce said:
on Monday 16-Apr-18 04:57 PM
Preparing children for child abuse, I think there is no way to keep quiet not telling our children about this horrible situation and to make them aware. It is very important that they are aware.
Helen said:
on Monday 16-Apr-18 08:06 AM
This topic is very important to discuss with kids today, I would be so happy if schools today had articles or projects like this to follow. We are leaving in the crazy world today and lots of mad people around us.
Thabitha said:
on Thursday 12-Apr-18 09:26 AM
If topics like this one can be introduced at school it will help lots of children and I told my kids to tell me if older people are abusing or even touching them and kids needs to open to their parents about abuse.
Dune said:
on Wednesday 11-Apr-18 04:54 PM
I 100% agree, I would want my daughter to speak about it and be aware of the actual dangers out there, she needs to know in order for her to stand up for herself and defend herself.
Alexis said:
on Thursday 05-Apr-18 04:47 PM
That is all one can do is just make them aware of the fact that not everyone is good, and they will not be good to them even though they will tell them all is ok. The world and people are messed up
Zindy said:
on Tuesday 03-Apr-18 08:09 AM
I agree children should know what is right and wrong that includes abuse. If someone is abusing them they should know to speak out because if they don't know any better they will keep quiet and not know it is wrong and get help.
Sharne said:
on Tuesday 03-Apr-18 07:51 AM
You have to speak to your child about the horrors of the world. They need to learn children about these stuff at school more regularly. Some parents don't even try to put in the afford to Educate there Children about these Problems.
Tersia said:
on Tuesday 03-Apr-18 06:34 AM
I agree with this. My sister also from when her children first started to go to school told them also that not all "Oom's" and "Tannie's" should be trusted and if anything seems out of place for them they should say something. It's definitely something I am scarred about and will also make my children aware of one day. There should actually be some light on the topic at school, maybe it will either lessen the statistics of how many children do get abused or at least stop it before it goes to far.
Henrietta said:
on Thursday 29-Mar-18 02:04 PM
I agree with this blog, although you want to shield your child from these kind of horrors, the fact that they know these thing do happen and that they should be aware and to always tell you will guard them. You get horrible, sick people out there and children should be aware of it.
Angelique Jurgens said:
on Tuesday 27-Mar-18 08:21 AM
I completely agree. You have to prepare your child by speaking about it and making sure they know that it is not OK for adults or even other kids to do strange things to them. The earlier we start educating our children about these unspoken things the better. Ofcourse it will not completely protect them but we need to be more open about these things otherwise children will be quiet about it.
Ashleigh said:
on Monday 26-Mar-18 08:34 AM
Agreed, Something that is rarely discussed even between parent and child. I think some children don't even know that they are being abused because they have been brought up to think its normal. I speak to my children about bullying and abuse quite often. Some parents don't even know what is going on with their children. There was an incident at my son's school with two young teen boys who landed up getting a beating from a parent. It took facebook for the mother to find out that her son is actually a bully and terrorizes children and even parents to a point where the parents are ready to report her child to the police. We really have to make sure we ask our children daily about how their day was at school you will actually be quite shocked at what is happening in the schools now. I try not just be a parent to my children, I try be a friend as well.
Natasha said:
on Thursday 22-Mar-18 02:12 PM
I agree they must start telling children about the danger that is out there. Some children's parents dont tell them about it and most of the times it happens to those children,and then again you get children that tell their parents about what happend and then the parents dont believe them and that is just sooo wrong because why would i child lie about things like that.
Shristi said:
on Monday 19-Mar-18 05:22 PM
I totally agree with this post! I personally think that they should incorporate the topic of child abuse and the different kinds of it into the school curriculum. By doing so kids will be more aware and alert of such things and they can inform their parent/guardian should anyone try anything strange with them and the necessary action can be taken before anything untoward happens!
Nikita said:
on Monday 19-Mar-18 04:38 PM
I absolutely agree with this blog. My parents always believed in us being street wise. In other words always made us aware of the real dangers that we could face such as what to do if you were kidnapped and put in a boot etc. Children must know that these things are not right and they must say something about it because if they are not educated on these things they will believe that it is normal or that it is their fault.
Michelle said:
on Monday 19-Mar-18 10:31 AM
Personal hygiene is something children should be taught at an early age at home, it should come naturally. I think the world we live in has changed so much it’s more important to educate children about all the dangers outside their comfort zone. Parents can obviously join with this at home. It’s still so sad to make them aware of the reality at such a young age, but it’s better to make them aware than to make them easy victims.
Prishani said:
on Monday 19-Mar-18 08:31 AM
I definitely think this topic needs to be discussed with all children as soon as possible and as early as possible, many parents wait until their children are old enough to understand and by then it is often already too late.
Michelle D said:
on Monday 19-Mar-18 08:27 AM
I agree. A lot of children do not grasp what abuse is and the fact that it is not okay until they are much older and it is already too late. In schools now days children are taught about safe sex and about coming of age and yet the topic of abuse is not mentioned. Especially when considering that most cases of child abuse happen at home by someone the child knows, it is important for schools to offer a safe space for communication about abuse as well as provide for a platform to assist those children who may be suffering from abuse.
Liz said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 04:46 PM
I am in absolute agreement with this. I am a big fan of the crime channel and what I have picked up is that children are manipulated by the offender and begin to believe that there might not be anything wrong with what is happening or that they too would get into trouble should, the sexual abuse come to light. It is so important that children be given a voice and that they are aware of what is wrong and completely unacceptable. No child will be robbed of their innocence by being aware of sexual abuse, the robbing of their childhoods will take place if they are misinformed as to what sexual abuse is and are as a result subjected to it.
Liat Grindler said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 04:36 PM
I must agree with this blog, children are so naïve and innocent that they have to be told about the bad that could happen. Especially in todays times, with social media and access to the web- children can become victims of abuse and like said in the blog, it could be an uncle, a friend or someone who is respected by the childs parents. There should be open dialogue between child and their parents because most parents cant always be around their children- like school, so children should be able to speak to their parents about everything and should be praised for being able to express their sadness, happiness, anger or sexuality.
Sarah said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 04:19 PM
I agree fully with this blog topic, schools should teach the children that awareness of the child abuse and parents should be ,ore open about child abuse. My son knows already not to take anything from anyone that he is unsure and go with anyone even if he knows them he will come call me to go with him and he is only two years old, as he gets older I will be more open about the topic as he gets older.
Daniella said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 03:46 PM
My friends mom actually does Safety and Awareness shows for nursery schools and primary schools. When I matriculated I helped out with a few shows. Long story short they have a bunch of different shows touching on different topics, there was on in particular that is a puppet named Betty Beautiful that explains to the kids what areas of their bodies shouldn't ever ever be touched by any adult no matter what the relation etc ( this is all obviously in a sweet cartoon like voice). Once the show was done it was shocking to see the amount of little children that wanted to tell Betty Beautiful(The puppet) how their uncle, dad or any relative has touched them. I personally feel as though these shows are so crucial in every single school!!
Tamaryn said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 01:57 PM
I think people are focused on telling their children to blindly respect their elders, do what mom or dad or the teacher says, without being told of the dangers that may also be associated with this. Not all adults are good and if a child feels uncomfortable for any reason they should be able to go to an adult they trust without feeling like they are disobeying what they have been told/taught. I think parents and schools need to put things into a bit more perspective when "teaching" children. Obviously they believe they are protecting children from a cruel world but more harm comes of that than good.
Bianca R said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 01:54 PM
I couldn't agree more, the more it is spoken about and made public, the higher the chances that there will be a decrease in that kind of abuse against children. Both of my god children were taught from a very young age that adults are not always kind and some of them are very dangerous, they are both aware that it is unacceptable, and a danger situation to get out of and tell their parents about! We cannot censor this, it is a reality for every child and rather have them educated about it and have them know, it is NOT ok!
Jadine Richards said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 12:22 PM
Knowledge is certainly power. Its sad that many parents in an attempt to protect their children only open them up to being harmed. The current trend in South Africa of sexual abuse in schools is alarming! Maybe if the topic was discussed in our schools then not only the victims but their peers would be able to identity this kind of abuse and raise the alarm. Lets hope something changes soon.
Megan said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 08:46 AM
I definitely agree that children should be told about abusers and taught what to do to try and get away or help themselves out of the situation. I also wholly believe that abusers prey on the weak and they know children are unaware of what is happening as abusers (people they may know, specifically) use reassuring tones to tell them this is "fine and normal". This is not good for their growth either as they will now think this is health and get taken advantage of in future.
Fikile said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 08:40 AM
black people always say " you never tell a child about sex or anything else that adults do". As a child growing up a got a change to learn that one of the kids a grow up with was being molested by her own father and her mother didn't do anything about it and told her not to tell anyone about, then she got pregnant with her fathers child, even after she got pregnant her father continually molested her. Abuse is out the and the more people don't talk about with their kids the more the child gets afraid to tell you as a parent that the is something that is wrong with them or what other people are doing to them
Bianca N said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 08:39 AM
I could not agree more with this. As hard as we try to protect our children and their innocence we are making it easier for people to get away with abuse. Our kids should know that there are horrible people in this world. It is the sad reality that we raise our kids in an extremely sick and dangerous world, and by not telling or teaching them about it we are making them more vulnerable. They should know that if someone is doing something inappropriate or something that makes them uncomfortable they should speak up and let their parents or guardians know. Not all grown ups care and are good people, there are people who want to hurt them and it sad that little children's innocence is being taken by them, most of the time by people they know and trust. My son knows to come and tell me immediately if someone did something to make him feel uneasy. The story in the news by children who were sexually abused at school by an employee, and then again by the very police officer who was supposed to help protect them, made my blood boil and my heart break for those children. This needs to become a topic in schools and children need to be educated on this.
Clare said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 08:25 AM
I agree here with you 100%. To me we are aloud to talk to our children about sex and mother nature but we cant tell them about pedophiles and sick people that do sick thinks to little kids I tell my son everyday that if anyone does anything to him he must tell me, sadly but even if its Family he needs to tell me because like you said it is normally some one close to them and I have heard of many stories it makes me distorted but this is the reality that we live in and we need to tell our children about it.
Jessica Apfel said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 07:40 AM
It is a harrowing thought, but a very true reality. Just this week a group of abused children from Orlando were FURTHER abused by the Investigating Officer meant to protect them!! It is sad to have to remove the naivety of a child, but we have to teach them the ugly truths of the world so that they aren't a statistic!
Mathilda Du Preez said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 07:13 AM
I agree 100% with this blog
Schools and parents should talk more about all types of abuse to their children and to not talk to strangers
The other day I read online that one child goes missing every five hours in South Africa and mostly this is a result of child trafficking
This had me shook to my core
david said:
on Friday 16-Mar-18 07:02 AM
the world is full of freaks...
my daughter knows that if anyone goes anywhere near her that she is to scream as loud and long as she can.
then i will come over and kill whoever it is.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
