Search Results for: adult and still being abused

Sexual Abuse of Boys: Mebe IS NOT Having a Whale of a Time.

This is the second article on Mebe – an adult male sexually abused as a child. To read Mebe’s background story, click here. When Mebe chose his fictious name for this series of articles, he originally decided upon Moby. He reasoned that he looked like Moby Dick – large and whale like. Although he laughed at his own comparison, there was a degree of shame and embarrassment attached. After our brief discussion about his name, he pulled a packet of sweets out of his bag and began eating them. Mebe identified that sweets bought him comfort. Nobody liked him, he … Continue reading →

Does your Daughter get Sexually Harassed at School?

Sexual harassment can take many different forms, however, all actions are based on the social construction of inherited male power and gender conditioning. Unsolicited and unreciprocated male sexual behavior, directed toward females, is often regarded by some as a normal male practice. Such learned functioning undermines the autonomy of women and girls. This cannot remain unchallenged because it is hurting our daughters and affecting their learning at school. Sexual harassment occurs in school settings too, between male teacher to female student, male student to female teacher and from student to student. Australian research has shown a dominant school culture where … Continue reading →

My Introduction, Better Late Than Never!

I seemed to overlook offering a welcome to the readers of my Special Needs Blogs. Better late then never is my motto–especially when it comes to parenting special needs children. My name is Anna Glendenning and I am the mother of four children. My oldest Sean and Victoria (Tori) are nearly 23 and 22-year-old. I gave birth to both of them by way of cesarean section. Sean was born under emergency circumstances and in the NIC-ICU for several days following his birth. He had an infection, jaundice and some complications concerning his heart rate. I was a 20-year-old mother scared … Continue reading →

Child Protection Week

Child Protection Week is an opportunity for community to reflect on their protection practices and to celebrate kids being kids. This week, Australian communities are celebrating their children, their commitments to keeping children safe, and our active involvement with families who are struggling. This morning’s launch encouraged people to consult with children to find out what they want to help keep them safe. Have a look at the NAPCAN site to see what some Australian children have already said. It’s interesting that the responses lack items like play stations or expensive trips away. Australian children are identifying love, peace and … Continue reading →

The Grooming Process of a Child Sexual Predator.

Grooming is a process of desensitization that predators use on children to prepare and trick them into accepting sexual abuse. Once the predator has gained the child’s trust and confidence, they use everyday behaviours, like telling an inappropriate joke, a touch on the upper arm that lingers a little too long or a kiss on the lips to test whether your child is likely to tell on them. If the perpetrator is satisfied that your child won’t tell, the predator moves onto other forms of bad touching. If the child still doesn’t tell, then the abuse continues along the continuum … Continue reading →

BITSS of Touch

Any touch can quickly turn from good to bad. So too can sexual activity and the grooming process that leads up to sexual abuse. Therefore, it is VERY important your child understands good touches/bad touches. Just as adults have the authority to say no at any time, so too do children. If someone is cuddling them and then tries to touch their private parts, children need to know this is a bad touch and they can say no and go and tell someone, even if the cuddle was good at first and they really wanted it. Most children are familiar … Continue reading →

BITSS of Intuition

Intuition is the adult term for what kids know as early warning signs. It is said that females have better intuition than males because girls are more sensitive. Perhaps that’s only because some of us train our sons NOT to rely on their intuition and not to show their feelings about things. We like them to be manly: rational, sensible, scientific, and cut off from their feelings. And when male children are sensitive we put them down by telling them not to be girls/sissies/cry babies!? The other thing we often do when children show emotion is to tell them to … Continue reading →

BITSS of Body Ownership.

From the moment we are born, our body belongs to us. Our body is part of our human signature. Babies may need to rely on adults to care for them but each baby’s body is still unique: they have their own skin, tone, imprints, hair, voice, size and shape. A newborn baby has little understanding of where their body begins and ends, so as loving carers, we engage in touch, good touch, to teach our babies what is theirs and what is ours. We stroke them, massage them and put clothes on them to give a message of body boundaries … Continue reading →

I’m Scared To Be Alone with Him

The following is based on a personal experience I had with an abused wife. The names have been changed in an effort to protect everyone involved. The scariest part of this story is that it happens all the time and while we know that abuse occurs, it can happen right in front of us without even knowing it. Her Name Was Amy Amy lived three doors down from my family. She was a great lady and someone I would consider a very good friend. She and her husband Ed had been married for more than a decade when I knew … Continue reading →