Let’s face it guys! The ‘rape’ discussion is a bit skewed with so much focus on the girl child. Almost all the information on prevention, safety measures and support is centered towards young girls. Research shows that 90% of rapists are men so it seems quite logical to direct a lot of attention to girls but what about young boys? Is anyone looking out for them?
While girls are taught safety measures to avoid getting raped, we also need to need to teach young boys to imbibe attitudes that do not lead them to becoming rapist in future. You know why? Because rapists do not fall from the skies or sprout from the ground, they are normal people like you and I and they live among us. The only issue is that they probably grew up with a wrong orientation about sex and how to treat women properly therefore it’s important to understand that certain sociological and cultural factors are responsible for the way people act.
Sexually abused boys, early exposure to pornography, authoritarian cultures where females are believed to be inferior may form part of contributory factors and these should be identified and tackled early in order to prevent future manifestation of rape.
Of course this issue is clearly deeper than what it seems but a change in perspective is all I ask so the next time you discuss rape with friends or in a formal setting were decisions are made, never forget that the boys need as much attention as the girls.
Thanks for reading.
(This article was recapped from another article I wrote in Jan, 2018 called ‘I KNOW THE MONSTER’ published in sayfty.com)
Picture credit: Pixabay
