A significant percentage of Israel's children are exposed to violence and sexual abuse, a new report commissioned by the Knesset's Committee on the Rights of the Child revealed.
While the report suggests an overall drop in violence among children, it states that the number of children subjected to sexual abuse by other children is on the rise.
It is very sad to read this. Any child who molests should be treated first as a victim acting out. When his victimization is dealt with, his reasons for offending will likely stop. EMDR trauma therapy is excellent for this.
ReplyDelete"Any child who molests should be treated first as a victim acting out. When his victimization is dealt with, his reasons for offending will likely stop."
ReplyDeleteJAM: And what constitutes a "child" for this purpose and discussion? Under 18? Under 21? And why is a 17 year old different than an 18 year old - or a 20 year old different than a 21 year old in this regard? Just an arbitrary age cut-off makes one a victim instead of a criminal?
David, I think the age of consent in your state or country, would be a good place to start. At any age, reporting to child protection or social services is hopefully beneficial. I am speaking to parents by saying, if your child is molesting or if your child was molested by another child, handle it carefully, keeping in mind that the young molester is likely acting out. We want to get to the bottom of his story so that if there is a pedophile behind this mess, you can get to him, the root cause. This topic and how to handle it is very big and we can't solve it in the comments section, but David, your question is very valid and important. Victim advocates might at first feel that at any age a molester should be prosecuted, but when its an 11yr old boy molesting his 8yr old sister, because the 17yr learning disable cousin raped him, because the 45yr old rebbe raped the 17 yr old, who gets prosecuted and who can be rehabilitated?
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