In the process of trying to deal with the effects of our child being sexually abused, we decided that we would educate ourselves and champion the cause of prevention, and try to support other families in crisis. We even reached out to some and offered to provide free prevention courses using several trained experts. To our dismay, we were told that these entities already had resources and internal policies in place. This was disheartening because so many people are oblivious to how predators operate; so much so, that we often miss the behavior among those in our inner circle.
After all, how is it that grandfathers, aunts and uncles, sister and brothers, and fathers molest their own family members for years and no one is any the wiser? Moreover, if we told you that there are reported cases of a grandfather molesting his grandchild while riding in the backseat of the car driven by the child’s parents, would that surprise you? How about if we told you that a father felt he was being taunted sexually because his 2 year old daughter had the audacity to run around the house in her diaper? Would that cause you to stop and consider who is engaging your children and rethink who is allowed in your child’s space?
Bottom Line…there is more to educating teachers, clergy, and day care providers than just discussing “the basics.” Predators are crafty and well educated themselves. Remember, when the angels of the Lord came, Satan came also!