Why are these children sexually assaulting other children? The answer is not surprising to me but it is devastating to me. “Pornography is often a main factor,” Olson says, “and sometimes the only factor, that influenced a child to act out in a sexually harmful way.” And the children that also and is working with are not isolated. Last year, the Guardian in the United Kingdom published an article entitled “Child-on-child sexual assaults soar, police figures reveal.” This is not just an American problem, it’s a problem that applies to any country where children have ready and open access to the Internet.
The only good news here, Olson says, is that now that we know that this is a trend, we can do what it takes to stop it. Her key pieces of advice for parents are as follows:
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Talk to children about the dangers of pornography. Children often accidently stumble upon porn while searching innocently online. Talk to your children and make it safe for kids to speak up when they see something. Check your children’s screens and devices frequently. Children who habitually look at porn are more likely to act out. Know what your kids are looking at.
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Prepare your children to protect amazing bodies – their own and others. Teach them that other people should never be touching or taking pictures of their private areas. At the same time, teach them they should never touch or take pictures of others’ private areas.
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Educate others about online safety. Raise awareness of the correlation between sexual assault and pornography. Talk about keeping kids safe. The more people understand, the better chance we have to protect our kids.
Parents, as I said before, I strongly encourage you to subscribe to Protect Young Minds. They have tons of resources to help parents truly prepare their kids for and protect their kids from pornography. This is something we must do if we want our children to have good sexual health, and to stop them from becoming perpetrators of sexual assault.
