• Let’s start a conversation!

    Posted on October 21, 2010 by in Blog, Uncategorized

    LET’S START A CONVERSATION” BY ADDRESSING SOME QUESTIONS:

    What’s behind the increasingly high demand for material that sexually exploits children and youth in our society?

    • We need to better understand the factors that promote sexual interest in children and adolescents and address those factors.
    • We must address the role of a sexualized media, electronic technology and the proliferation of internet pornography on the demand for exploitive material.
    • We must educate community leaders and lawmakers about  how early sexualization increases the supply of sexualized children and call on them to support standards that will hold those who promote and profit from victimizing the vulnerable accountable for their actions.

    Federal and state government spends billion of dollars annually to apprehend, convict, incarcerate, and manage sex offenders after a crime has been committed, what about sex crime prevention?

    • If we spent a fraction of that money on equipping the public with child abuse prevention strategies we would keep hundreds of thousands of potential victims from the consequences of sexual exploitation and abuse.
    • If we spent a fraction of that money on early intervention strategies with individuals at risk of migrating into illegal behaviors, we would save billions of dollars in post-offense expenses and deter ordinary people from becoming perpetrators.
    • We need to address as a society that sexual exploitation and it’s consequences are a public health issue.

    What relationship does the sexual exploitation of women and children have on the prevalence of domestic violence in our culture?

    • When women and children are treated as sexual objects for personal pleasure, the incidence of sexual and physical abuse often increases.
    • Sexualization of girls and women are linked to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression making them increasingly vulnerable to perpetrators.
    • Sexual trauma, as well as domestic violence affects individuals, families, and communities emotionally, physically, financially, legally, spiritually, and socially.