April is Sexual Assault Awareness month and I want to end this month with a discussion about a conversation I heard a couple of DJs having on a nationwide radio station a few weeks ago.
The male DJ was explaining how upset he was and how hurt his feelings were because his teenager didn’t want to hug him anymore. The female DJ commented that it’s okay to give the kid a hug, even if they don’t want it.
Then they asked for listeners to call in with their opinions in the matter.
The consensus was that it’s okay to hug your child, even if they don’t want you to, because they are your child and you love them.
Let me tell you my opinion…
THAT IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG!!!
If it’s okay for you to force affection on a child because you love them, when is it not okay for someone to do something they are uncomfortable with because they love them?
If you force a child to accept affection when they clearly don’t want to, you are teaching them that allowing people to “love” them is acceptable, even if they don’t want the “love”!
It also teaches children that “no” doesn’t mean “no.”
It teaches them that if you love somebody you are allowed to show them your affection, even if they say no!
There is so much wrong with forced affection, just because you”love” them!
It teaches children that what they want is not as important as the wants of the person who “loves” them.
It teaches children that their body is not their own. That it’s okay for people who”love” them to use their body to meet selfish needs.
Do I need to go on?
If we are going to get anywhere near reducing the number of sexual assaults, many of which don’t get reported, we need to teach our children that their body is theirs alone and they don’t have a right to somebody else’s body because they “love” it.
Let’s teach kids to respect one another’s boundaries, by not encroaching on theirs.
Let’s teach them that “no” means “no” and that they don’t have the right to someone’s body, ever, by allowing them to choose who, when and how, they will show affection.
Maybe, if we teach consent and boundaries, there won’t be a need for Sexual Assault Awareness month in the future.
You must be logged in to post a comment.