BL Guide to Preventing Child Abuse?
Submitted by Heather on June 29 1999 at 16:58:19
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"There is an ethical consensus among the BoyChat community . . . that all forms of non-voluntary sexual contact are to be condemned." --Free Spirits home page "We are strictly opposed to any treatment of children which is contrary to the love that God intends us to have for them. This includes the manipulation, coercion and abuse of children." --Christian Boylove Forum FAQ (as it is being revised) I was browsing through a Quaker library on Sunday when I came across a book for young children giving them tips on how to avoid sexual abuse. One thought that went through my head as I was reading it was that no boylover would have any problems giving this book to his young friend, because the book defined abuse in the same way as Free Spirits did, as non-voluntary sexual contact. The other thought that went through my head was how full of cliches about abusers the book was. The book actually begins with the "don't take candy from strangers" adage – probably a useful piece of advice, but somehow I doubt that most of the abusers of this world are to be found lurking in playgrounds, enticing kids with lollypops. Which made me think about the fact that some of the best pieces of advice I've seen about online safety for kids have been posted on the boylove boards. And I've also heard anecdotes about boylovers trying to protect their young friends against potentially dangerous people. So all of this made me speculate that the boylovers could come up with a really terrific set of tips to help kids avoid being abused. So does anybody have any contributions? What sort of advice would you give your young friends? What sort of advice would be helpful to younger and older kids? Heather |